Ranma the Prophetess
by ejhawman
Summary: Updated 7/7/10. Final epilogue.
1. Dawn at Jusenkyo

-NOOB WARNING-

Neophyte writer here. No skills or talent. That's what this site is about, ne?

This will certainly have to be reworked at some time, but I think the concept is a worthy one.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Dawn breaks over a remote valley in China, lighting up the morning mist. It is a picturesque scene, one tourists will journey thousands of miles to see. But no one enjoys the beauty of the sunrise this day; there are no tourists to see it, only residents. Most are animals, and all have been here a very long time indeed. Lifetimes, in fact.

The dead spirits of the Pools of Jusenkyo go about their normal daily spiritual business. One, however, has a secret. Alone among the spirits this morning she enjoys the sunrise - but not for its beauty. It looks, in fact, like many another day. But it is not just another day to her. Today is special. Today, at long last, she leaves.

She hides her knowledge well; the few other intelligent spirits suspect nothing. She was always good at keeping secrets. It was her business once. It also helps that she is far and away the oldest of them.

The sun climbs into the sky, burning off the mists. Presently three figures approach along the road leading into the valley. One is the local area guide. The other is a travelling martial artist, like most who find their way here, usually in the guide's company. The last is, from his resemblance to the other, the martial artist's son. A boy with a destiny. The vehicle of the hopeful one's liberation.

The guide is not entirely competent. That is why he is here. The first guide assigned to the area was too competent, and none too wise: he prepared a report to his superiors about the properties and potential of the Springs, and the local villagers were forced to arrange an unfortunate accident to avoid having the whole valley become a top secret military reservation. The second guide, made aware of his predecessor's fate, kept his knowledge from getting to the government but thought he was doing well to keep a squirrel dunked in the Spring of Drowned Dog in a cage to demonstrate the power of the springs to the martial artists who came to train here. This gave them pause enough to listen to the full tour, after which they invariably jumped in powerful springs - tiger, elephant, chimera, dragon, ashura-demon. The almost-wise guide did not survive the resulting war among overpowered martial artists.

And so the villagers used what influence they had to find someone they could control, not too smart, who would offer only the basic tour. If some visitors were too impatient to listen and came to misfortune, they deserved their fate.

The father and son are such. They take to the poles immediately, jumping to and fro, clashing in midair, hurling insults. "I won't go easy on you!" "That's just how I like it!" "OY- SHOH- TOH!" Splash.

It is the Panda's turn this time. So many possibilities dance. If only the father had dodged. If only the son had hit on a slightly different angle. So much easier things would be for them if the first one to be cursed had a smaller and weaker form, unable to dunk the other. So much power the boy would gain to control his life if his father were a dog or a squirrel or a piglet or - best of all - a cat. But no. The Panda wins this round, and the father's advantage grows.

The dance resumes. The boy backs away in surprise, hopping along poles. Timelines split left and right as the boy dodges this way and that: here he falls in the generic Spring of Drowned Girl, to learn how the world judges appearances, how unforgiving and unfair his society can be. There he becomes a tiger, in mind as well as body due to his father's foolishness some years before. Over there he becomes a virtuous man, who renounces his family as honorless.

Across the pools they move, the boy getting his bearings. Knowing now the consequences of getting wet, he can stay dry much longer. He tries to get to the edge and safely away from the prospect of being cursed, but his father always angles to cut him off, keeping him over the springs.

They enter powerful territory now. The chimera-spring, in which an ancient lecher once baptized a baby with an unfortunate name. The dragon-spring, widely regarded as the most desirable; only one local village knows better. Toward that better spring they head, the boy almost falling in the Spring of Drowned Sage, very tragic story of a Han Dynasty wise man who drowned himself here two thousand years ago to offer his wisdom to future ages. The tragedy of his story, of course, is that no one has fallen in his pool since. Nor will anyone today, alas. _Sorry, old friend, but this one is mine._

And so the fatal moment comes. The boy is an instant too slow. Down he goes, plunging into destiny.

XxXxXxXxX

Ranma looked about himself. All was darkness. Strangely he didn't feel wet. He felt numb, like his body wasn't even there. Was he dead? _Better dead than turned into some...THING._

Color appeared before him, then shape. Human. Female. Tanned. Dark hair. Nude.

A ghost, Ranma realized. Part of him thought he should look away. Another part wondered if it mattered. Ghosts don't have modesty, do they? Politeness had never been his thing anyway. "Who... who are you?" he asked.

"I am you, now," she replied.

Ranma remembered his father. The ghost's meaning was all too clear. "OH NO! NO WAY! I ain't gonna be a GIRL!"

He shrank away as the ghost reached out, touched his cheek, came face to face. "It is already done..." She moved in and kissed, her lips going through his, and she went INTO him.

XxXxXxXxX

Genma looked on in satisfaction at his victory. At last he had evened the score! Surely that would be the terms of their training for today: counting dunkings.

Not focused on combat, he now noticed something was off. He felt different, somehow. Taller. Stronger than usual. He couldn't control his fingers. He looked at his hand...paw. Paw? Furry arm, furry body... suddenly he recalled what the guide had been saying. Horror washed over him. Cursed? The horror redoubled as he considered his son. What had happened to HIM?

He did not have to wait long to find out. A figure wearing his son's gi emerged sputtering from the spring below. A figure that did not look much like Ranma. Too thin and delicate, maybe a bit too tall. Hair tinted green. The figure looked down at itself, opened the front of the gi. Female breasts. Feminine cry of surprise and despair.

A girl. They were dead. Nodoka would have to enforce the seppuku contract. They couldn't go back home unless they found a way to break Ranma's curse.

Ranma emerged from the spring as the guide caught up to them. "Oh sirs! Very sorry. You fall in Spring of Drowned Wise Woman, oldest of all springs. No one know when it happen, but must have been very tragic. Local village tell you about it... ummm... maybe better not, they be very angry..."

Ranma went up to the guide and grabbed the front of his Mao suit. "How do I cure it?"

"Very sorry sir, is no cure. Can change to man with hot water, but only until you fall in cold water again."

"Never mind. I'll find a way myself." He looked back at the springs, then turned back to the guide. "Is there a Spring of Drowned Young Man?'

The guide pointed. "Over there, but it not...work...SIR!" The guide watched helplessly as the young-man-turned-woman flung himself into the indicated spring.

He emerged an instant later, unchanged. "It dosen't work!" He looked around again and quickly jumped into the next spring over.

After dunking himself in a dozen springs, Ranma walked back to the guide, cold fury in his eyes. "Why dosen't it WORK!"

"Is powerful spring you fall into, sirs. Stronger than others."

"Tell me. Tell me everything."

"Is spring of Drowned Wise Woman, or maybe Prophetess... woman who sees things no one else see... ummm... village over here know more... but they be angry -"

"Angry I can deal with. Let's go."

Next: Amazons


	2. Amazons

Chapter 2: Amazons

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

" " - Japanese

"% %" - Chinese

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

There was some kind of festival going on at the village. Most of the residents were gathered in the central area watching a suspended-log fight. Ranma had done a few of these; good balance training at one time, though his skills were far beyond that level now.

One of the combatants was a girl about his age in silks and breastplate wielding a couple of maces. The other had a polearm bristling with spikes. They were striking and parrying with what Ranma considered good speed. Anyone else looking on would have considered it superhuman.

It was midday. Lunch had been set up on a table to one side. Ranma and his father automatically started to eat: easier to get forgiveness than permission, in their experience, especially if the rest of the village were about to eat as well. They settled in and watched the fight.

The girl on the log won with an impressive blow that sent her opponent flying into the crowd. "Winning martial art show is good honor," the guide said.

"That girl's got some serious power," Ranma conceded, munching on some fruit.

The guide noticed them eating. "Mister customers? What you eat here?"

A mace suddenly smashed the table. Ranma found himself facing a very angry tournament winner. She spoke in her local dialect. "You there!" the guide translated. "Woman! Why do you steal my prize? She say."

"Prize?"

"Every year this day is martial art show. This year special prize. I am now champion, she say."

"Then if I defeat you, you've got no problem, right?" Ranma said. This he could deal with: win the tournament and the prize was his. Piece of cake.

The girl yelled something that sounded like a battle cry. "She KILL!" the guide warned as the girl charged.

Ranma jumped back, easily avoiding the first blow. The second he intercepted on the downswing, breaking off the mace head and sending it spinning through the air. It came down on the girl's head, knocking her out.

Ranma felt himself grabbed by a large furry paw. His father had decided it was time to make themselves scarce, as usual. They ran for their lives as the villagers screamed for blood.

XxXxXxXxXxX

As Shampoo awoke, she found her great-grandmother balancing on her walking staff nearby. Cursing her carelessness, she got up, dusted herself off, and ran off in the direction the other villagers were all looking. She didn't get twenty strides before getting tripped.

"%Child!" Cologne chastised. "Where do you think you are going?%"

"%To kill her! She stole the Prize! The only way to -%"

BONK. "%Think, child! How will you kill a Prophetess? How could she even BE the Prophetess if the Lady did not allow it?%"

Shampoo rubbed her head. "%She tricked the Lady?%"

Cologne sighed. "%With all my years even I couldn't do such a thing. No. The Lady chooses who She wills. We hold these tournaments to decide who to offer her, and thus far she has always accepted our champions. But she always has the right to choose someone else, even an outsider. She must have her reasons. Some purpose to be pursued in the outside world. And we must find what that purpose is.%" She gestured toward the village. "%Pack our things for a long trip...%"

XxXxXxXxXxX

The village was unfamiliar to Ranma; they had taken a different road on their way in. They had gotten far enough back to civilization that there were truck stops; they went into a restroom and changed into their normal genders.

Ranma was relieved to be male again. The girl-form, perhaps woman-form - it seemed older than him - beyond just being what he wasn't, and leading people to expect things that he wasn't used to, threw him off physically. It had a higher center of gravity, and he was constantly aware of parts that shouldn't have been there that were, and what should have been but wasn't. It was weaker and had less stamina: even now he was exhausted, when he should have been full of energy from a brisk walk in the countryside.

There were some men playing cards. One of the ways they had financed their training, though Genma was not a particularly good gambler and usually ended up stealing the pot and running. Ranma assumed that would happen here and prepared for a fight.

Three bulky men stood behind the card sharks. Ranma looked them over. They were doing their best to look intimidating. It wasn't working. Ranma had dealt with worse odds.

Predictably, Genma started to lose and accused the men of cheating. Both sides were, of course, and neither was much good at it. They left a room full of unconscious men and resumed resumed their normal training pace, running as if their lives depended on it. Which they didn't this time, a refreshing change of pace from those crazy women.

Their normal forms, unfortunately, didn't last. Hours later, the rain came. Ranma grumbled. He HATED being a girl.

They made it to a town near sundown. They slept under a bridge, not bothering to change for the night; there seemed no point. Ranma didn't like the looks he was getting from some of the men they had passed.

He REALLY hated being a girl.

They came in the night. They thought they were being silent. They had nets and bags and clubs. They got a full dose of Anything-Goes Martial Arts.

Ranma looked at their would-be captors. Same men who had been giving him those creepy looks. Women were scarce in China these days. No doubt they thought some zoo or private collector would pay big for a panda, too.

More running. More fighting. More training.

And then Ranma woke up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

One more worry, Ranma thought. He should have known it was a dream. It wasn't like his waking life, when he was full of thought.

In the three days since they had fled the village full of crazy women Ranma had gotten growing feelings of familiarity with everything he saw, of deja vu at everything that happened. He KNEW that flock of birds would fly overhead just so; he knew they woud get pelted with droppings - he managed to avoid them after the first time. He KNEW that truck would be coming up the road just now. He KNEW it was going to rain around this time of day.

So he should feel familiar with any town or truck stop they came to. Like the one they were approaching now. The one from the dream.

Genma led them into the restroom. They washed up, changing to man and boy. They joined a card game.

Ranma looked around the room. The card sharks and tough guys were the same as in the dream.

"Pop..."

"Quiet, boy! I'm trying to think!"

Ranma stood back and watched the scene unfold, exactly as before. The toughs were just as easy to deal with. As they ran, Ranma felt giddy. He had known what was going to happen! What had the guide called this? Spring of Drowned Prophetess? Now he wished they hadn't gotten the Amazons angry enough to kill them. They could tell him more about this.

"Pop! I knew it! I knew what was going to happen!"

"OF course you did! That ALWAYS happens!"

"No, I mean - I knew who those guys were! I knew their faces! I saw them before!"

If anything, Genma actually picked up speed. "We met them somewhere else? But we haven't cheated at cards since we got here!"

"I SAW IT! In a dream! Last night!"

"Don't be ridiculous! You've never believed in that stuff before!"

Ranma wanted to press the issue but something held him back. Some errant instinct, a suspicion that it would be better to leave it. He knew his father would be a hard sell on this; it could wait.

They eventually slowed down to walking pace. Why can't I see anything now? Ranma thought. He tried to summon a vision for several minutes with no success. Finally he relaxed, resting his brain. It soon hit him: Obviously he would see nothing - the cursed form had the power.

Later that day the rain came and proved him right. As soon as he changed he tried to see the rest of the day - it came in clearly. They were still going to have to deal with slavers and panda-poachers that night. Ranma informed his father. The panda's grunt sounded almost like a "so what?"

That evening, on the run from the slavers, Ranma got in an "I told you so!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shampoo stood on a roof, looking down at the city below. There they were, in a marketplace. She jumped a few blocks over to where her great-grandmother was drinking tea.

"They're here. Down in the market," she reported.

Cologne nodded. "Let us arrange an accident." She picked up the kettle from over the fire and pogoed across the rooftops.

She surveyed the market, as panda and Prophetess haggled for food. She worked her way around the market to a side street closer to them. They finished haggling and moved down a different side street. Cologne moved over and into position, then dumped the hot water over the side of the roof.

The panda turned into a man. The Prophetess turned into a boy. "Interesting. She has actually chosen a male," she mused.

Cologne watched them head off through the city, then went down to the restaurant herself and, having finished her tea, filled the cup with cold water in the restroom. She didn't spill a drop as she hopped along rooftops following her marks for several blocks. Finally she took an opportunity to dump the water on the boy. The Prophetess returned.

Cologne and Shampoo quickly retreated. "He knows the powers of the Prophetess, but not their limitations," she said. "Or just doesn't use the Gift consistently. We will have to train him in that."

"We take them now?" Shampoo asked.

"When we see where they are going. Returning to Japan, I should think. Exactly where should tell us much about the Lady's purpose."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma was using the power almost constantly now, except during training sessions. The occasional meditation training was especially helpful. He was learning to summon up very clear images and sequences, and how to manipulate them.

By concentrating on an image of something he had already seen with a specific intent to change something, he found he could see a new sequence, showing him the result of his intent. He could try variations on a theme, exhaustively study different approaches to problems. He was not surprised that he could win most future battles without knowing anything beforehand, but was a bit taken aback by how many fights proved avoidable or could be won much more easily than his usual approach would.

Several of these battles included images of strangers he sensed were a common presence in his life. Why would he suddenly have companions? Why was he seeming to return constantly to one house? His father had never wanted to put up with such burdens before.

Ranma went to sleep one night, determined to see who these people were.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this..."

"I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"

"You're pretty good. Well, I'm just glad you're a girl."

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

"The legendary ground of accursed springs...its true horror has always been shrouded in mystery. But now..."

"My daughter Kasumi. Nineteen. And Nabiki, seventeen. And Akane, sixteen. Pick the one you want. She's your fiancee."

"Oh, he wants Akane!"

"Oh, definitely!"

"Me? Marry that pervert? No way!"

"...and I'm better built, to boot!"

"She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma considered the dream. That whole business would take some work.

A marriage contract... that would be just like his father, not telling him about something as important as that. The old man wouldn't want him getting distracted with outside concerns or long-term situations. Several marriage contracts for trivial prices... that was par for the course too. They had been cheating people to sustain their lifestyle for as long as he could remember. But they had always been able to run away before. Now it seemed like their past would catch up with them.


	3. The Road to Japan

Chapter 3: The Road to Japan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma woke near dawn with his pulse pounding. Another dream about life with the Tendos. He'd rarely had dreams before Jusenkyo; his father always made sure he was thoroughly exhausted. Now his exhaustion didn't seem to matter. He was getting dreams every night. And he knew they weren't just dreams; they were visions of his future, more extended and focused than he could get while on the move, or even while meditating - though in meditation he had great control; while asleep he was just along for the ride.

Awake, he was getting better at using his visions to defeat his father in daily sparring. Sometimes he could stay in control of a whole session. It was almost fun to use the power. But part of him was still uneasy. He didn't like being a girl, and the dreams and controlled meditations were describing why in stark terms.

They were showing him his future life: a life of shifting demands to go with his shifting form. A big-picture strategic map that revealed not only the future but the past - things he had thought he left behind.

Ryoga... he hadn't seen the Lost Boy in three years. With Ranma staying in one place, he would be able to find Ranma on a regular basis again. Finding opponents on the move was impossible for him; someone who stayed in once place, merely difficult. But he had no skills Ranma couldn't deal with... and his Jusenkyo curse was a major weakness.

Some of these other martial arts disciplines he would deal with were just plain strange. He was wondering why he hadn't heard of them before, though... normally his father sought out unusual training for him. Many of these schools didn't seem like real martial arts, but that shouldn't throw his father off.

Just now, though... Ucchan. His old childhood friend was... a girl? Not a curse, but a real girl? Why hadn't anyone told him back then? And a marriage contract? THAT was how they'd gotten the yattai? And now apparently Ucchan's reputation was ruined and she had to live as a boy. It was enough to make Ranma sick.

Is this going to go on? Ranma thought. What else is there? How much don't I know about my own life? What has Pop been hiding?

Well, they were back in Japan now. He could get away from his father if necessary to check some things out. Right now, he needed to work over what he knew. If he could just figure out how to handle the things he had seen so far, it could calm his life down.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Later that day, they did meditation. Ranma decided it was time to set to work.

He was in front of the Tendos. Soun was just waking up. The family was coming to terms with him being a girl.

Why didn't I come right out and tell them about the curse? Ranma wondered. Because I was embarrassed? Okay, I'm not embarrassed NOW. Let's get this over with.

"Ummm... actually, I am a boy. I just LOOK like a girl right now."

"Uh-huh," Nabiki said, very unconvinced. "You look an awful LOT like one."

"Umm, yeah... about this...give me some hot water and I can show you."

"Hot water? How is that going to help?"

This was going to be harder than he thought. He jumped back to the start. "Ummm... sorry about the disguise..."

Nabiki poked a breast. "Awfully GOOD disguise."

Ranma flinched. "Cut that out! Ummm, well, we kinda need some hot water to, uh, dissolve some glue."

"Really, Ranma, you don't have to be embarrassed about anything," Kasumi said.

Not working. Ranma reset again.

"One second," he said, holding up a finger. He darted into the kitchen and set a kettle going.

Kasumi followed. "Ara! That's rude, barging into someone's kitchen and using it like this!"

"Trust me, this is important," Ranma said.

Akane came up in support. "What do you think you're doing! Kasumi, is she being a problem?"

"You're going to want to see this."

"I want to see you out, buster!" She assumed a stance.

A panda interrupted the scene, pushing the girls out of the way. After a few more seconds, Ranma took the kettle off the burner. His father immediately snatched it away for his own use.

This was only a slight delay. Ranma changed and stepped over the sisters, who had full-body faulted. Nabiki and Soun, who had not seen the change actually happen, were merely surprised.

"Saotome! Old friend! When did you get here?"

"Better sit down, Tendo. It's a long story..."

They made it through the explanation of the curses. In the interest of speeding things up, Ranma kicked his father into the koi pond first. He still got splashed, but that was no bother.

"These are my daughters. This is Kasumi, nineteen. Nabiki, seventeen. And Akane, sixteen. Pick whichever you like, she'll be your fiancee."

"Oh, he wants Akane!" "I agree!" "What? Why would I want to marry a pervert like that?"

"Pervert? It's not like I've seen you naked or anything!"

"You're a BOY who turns into a GIRL! If that isn't perverted, I don't know what is!"

"But you hate boys, don't you, Akane? Well, Ranma's half-girl," Kasumi tried to point out.

"STOP RIGHT THERE. I am NOT 'half-girl'. I'm a guy where it counts. I just LOOK like a girl sometimes."

"Well, that's being half-girl, isn't it?"

"And what if you were cursed to turn into a guy, huh? There's a spring for that. Should I go to China and get some water from there?"

"That's completely different," Nabiki said.

"How? Guys got to let girls be girls, but you don't have to let guys be guys? How is that fair?"

"You can be a guy. When you're a guy. When you're a girl..."

"No way. Uh-uh. Pop stole me away from my mom when I was a kid so I wouldn't have to deal with that stuff. He's raised me to be a 'man among men'. Whatever I look like on the outside, I always think and act like a guy. It's all I know. I don't know anything about being a girl, and I don't want to start."

"But, Ranma..." Kasumi pleaded.

"And I'm looking for a way to break this curse. I am NOT going to deal with it my whole life... unless I die in the next year or so."

The air in the room remained tense. Not least because of the heat coming from his father. Ranma looked at him and realized what he'd said. "Oh, yeah, I remember about the contract. Want to go back to China now?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He wouldn't, of course. But Ranma was making progress.

The next three days got results. He could smooth things over with the Tendos so that Akane knew about his curse from the start. He could make Kasumi and Nabiki understand he wasn't really a girl, but they still favored Akane as his fiancee. He could convince Kuno his girl side was actually him in disguise, get Kodachi fixated on Ryoga, and keep all challengers at bay. Getting Akane cursed to change into a duck was not as helpful as he'd hoped - it could be cured with Spring of Drowned Girl water, while his curse had proven too strong for the Spring of Drowned Man. The Tendos would prioritize a trip to China.

As Ranma settled down to sleep, he decided to look as far ahead as he could. It seemed like he was running into a lot of magical stuff in the next year. There had to be something he could use...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

White.

White cloth.

Sitting on a square of white cloth. Wearing a white outfit.

Kneeling down. With his father.

Blade in hand.

He looks to the blade, to his father, back to the blade. It all comes down to this.

The dreams. The sacrifices. The pain. Lost. Lost by a careless mistake. Lost by cowardice. Lost because... well, they didn't really deserve any of it.

They had proven themselves failures. Failed in every way that mattered.

Their lives defined by disappointment now. Dishonor. They could not live with themselves now. No one else wanted them to live, given what they had done.

Ranma looked up at the figure in dark kimono. Looked into the eyes of the one person who mattered anymore. Far more than his father.

His judge. His jury. His executioner. His -

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mother.

Ranma stared at the darkness for a long time.

His mother was alive. And she would kill him.

When he was very little he'd asked Pop where his mother was. Other kids had mothers, didn't they? They stayed with a lot of different martial arts families and most of them had mothers somewhere. What about his?

His father had told him to forget it. He was not going to be some weakling who went crying to his mother when he got hurt or couldn't do something. And that was that.

His father couldn't hide anything anymore. No one could. Not anymore. Not with his power. He could find any truth.

He had found HIS truth. The truth of his life.

His mother was alive. And she would kill him.

She hadn't wanted them to leave. She wanted to be a good mother. A TRUE mother. She loved him. She made her husband sign a contract, demanding seppuku if Ranma didn't measure up to his father's promises. Which he couldn't, now.

Very tragic story. Jusenkyo strikes again.

Ranma looked at the panda sleeping beside him.

I'm a child of TWO morons, he thought.

No. He would not be like them. He would be better. It couldn't be that hard.

The panda was stirring. The day was about to begin. Finding a way to beat this would have to wait. Tomorrow night, or perhaps if they meditated today...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma got more flashes while walking that morning. More glimpses of his mother. He saw her determination to fulfill the contract.

The Tendos were not particularly understanding. Nabiki pointed out that at least HIS mother was alive. For this, she advised he be with her, discounting the threat to his life.

He found out the terms of the contract. His curse. Without it he would live, guaranteed.

Fair enough. He didn't want to be a girl. His mother didn't either. On that they could agree.

He was tempted to keep hiding, and keep the power of prophecy, but... if he had to, a year with it would set him up for life. Well used, he could get money enough to... well, no. His father could fritter away ANY fortune.

It was frustrating. He was surrounded by idiots and weaklings. Maybe it was fate that the Saotome family go extinct.

No. His self-preservation instinct was too strong. There had to be a way to get out of this.

He was in luck. Later that day they did meditation. Ranma focused as far forward as he could, trying to resolve as many of his problems as he could. His father's training told. There was a way to solve ANY problem, resolve any situation, defeat any foe, if you only had the strength to do what it took.

Anything Goes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Ranma drove the Saotome honor blade down halfway into the concrete of the walkway and broke it off. He threw the truncated blade away and fixed his gaze on his tearful mother. His chi blazed like fire all around him._

_"I am Ranma. No family, no nation, no culture. Just Ranma. My life is my own. Where I walk, I walk alone." And with that, he turned about, strode easily down the walkway that had led to the Tendo's front door, over the still smoldering bodies of Happosai and Cologne, out to the sidewalk, turned left, and headed down the street._

_"R-ranchan..." Ukyo ignored the pain, crawling on broken limbs to follow Ranma. She passed out before getting past the outside wall._

_Nabiki looked about in horror at the ruins of her life. The house was gone, totally destroyed, as if hit by several tornadoes. Which it had, in the battle._

_In the remains of the kitchen, Kasumi nursed Akane's broken jaw. It would take much time and surgery if she were to have any hope of ever being called "cute" again._

_Over by the pond were the bodies of her and Ranma's fathers. Ranma's mother, kneeling on the porch, reached for the half-length sword Ranma had discarded and regarded it as if considering plunging it into her own guts._

_Leading away from the pond was a line of three nude bodies, Jusenkyo curses broken by death. Ryoga was split open, gutted like the pig that he had been. Mousse was impaled on several of his own once-Hidden Weapons. Shampoo lay front down, face up, head nearly twisted off while in cat form._

_Over along the outer wall, Kodachi babbled incoherently, her mind completely gone. She looked up into the sightless eyes of her brother. Tatewaki was pinned to the outer wall by his own family blade, the hilt protruding from his chest like some decoration._

_At last they knew. Ranma was human, after all. He had his limits. And like any proud martial artist, when you broke them, you broke HIM. And then he broke YOU._

_She wondered about using the Saotome honor sword when Nodoka was done with it._

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma flinched, shook his head. Okay, he knew that path was there. It was the one he wanted to avoid. Now to find something else, something better. He found his center and went in again.

_"Sailor Moon!"_

_"HEEELLLPP!" A Western girl with her hair done in improbably long ponytails ran desperately from a monster._

_"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Ranma hit the thing with 102 blows in a matter of seconds. It virtually exploded, but it wasn't made of flesh. Its body reformed quickly._

_"Ooooo-kay... MOKO TAKABISHA!" That had the same result. He started running in the blonde's direction._

_She ran unusually fast for a girl, he noted, but nothing to compare to his training. He caught up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself! You're the only one who can do this! Do that frisbee thing!"_

_"O-oh, right... Mooooon Tiaaaraaaa MAAAGIIIC!"_

_The monster dissolved in a cloud of dust._

_"Magic, not chi or physical attacks. I've been running into magic all over the place since China." He turned back to Usagi. "Where can I get something like that?"_

_"A-hem," said a new voice at his feet. "I believe I can help you with that."_

_Ranma looked down at the speaker._

_It was another monster. One far worse than the once he had just killed. He did the only thing he could under the circumstances._

_He ran._

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma blinked again. Where had THAT come from?

Unfortunately meditation was over for the day. He would not get another session for three more days.

With a groan, he resigned himself to investigating yet another new player in his life. And time was getting short. In five days they would be in Nerima. Then he'd have to put his plans to work.

He decided he would have to rework his meeting with the Tendos. It had been fine as it was, but with the revelations about his mother he wanted more time before meeting them. Time enough, perhaps, to deal with some of his other problems as well.

Five days to Nerima. He would be ready then.


	4. Not Meeting the Tendos

Chapter 4: Not Meeting the Tendos

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was time.

They were in Nerima, blocks away from the Tendo residence. They were in uncursed forms. Rain would start later. His father would then make the big announcement. Ranma started it early.

"So are we there yet?" Ranma asked.

The old man glanced back at him. "Almost. It's in this neighborhood."

"What do they teach?"

"Anything-Goes Style, same as us. Different branch of our school. You're here to meet your fiancee."

"Fiancee? I have a fiancee?"

"It's a matter of honor. A promise made before you were born. You should understand these things."

Ranma assumed a put-upon air. "And you're telling me this NOW?"

"You didn't need the distraction."

"Don't I even get a choice? What if I don't like her?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You know enough about honor by now."

"Well, I got no time for fiancees," Ranma said, stopping in his tracks. "I'm going back to China." He turned around and began walking away.

"Foolish boy! This is more important!" Father turned on son, reached out a hand to draw him back. Ranma ran ahead, dodging. The chase began.

Dodge, weave, strike, grab, throw. Random insults, nothing too barbed, complain about his sense of timing. Look for the moment - there. Stun. Press. KO.

Ranma made good his escape, leaping to the rooftops and moving as the crow flies. He would have a day, minimum. More, easily, with effort at evasion. He would visit a pachinko parlor for money - his father had always kept their money, Ranma never had any of his own on his person. Sleep in the Ginza tonight. Tomorrow... tomorrow he would take control.

His roof-hopping drew stares from the street. It was a sight they would have to get used to.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next morning he took his position between Furinkan and the Kuno estate. Kodachi would be a safe distance away when her brother ran into Ranma on the way to school.

"Tatewaki Kuno!" Ranma called as his target came within twenty paces. "I got business with you. It's about Akane Tendo."

"And who is this ill-mannered creature that dares intrude?" Kuno couldn't help but grandstand, even without an audience. "You have the advantage of me, knowing my name. I would have yours."

"Saotome Ranma, of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. You may have heard of the school. The Tendos are another branch."

"Truly? Then you claim kinship to Akane?"

Ranma grinned. "Future husband. Uniting the branches. Honor debt between our families. You know how it goes."

Instantly Kuno's bokken was out. "You would claim Akane Tendo's hand? The heavens doth weep that she may be denied happiness, forced to marry one unworthy of her as she pines for her true love! Nay, I cannot allow it! Prepare to surrender your claim! For today you face the rising new star of the high-school kendo world! The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! Tatewaki Kuno!" And with that he charged.

Ranma proceeded to show Kuno who was the better martial artist. Not that Kuno would learn. But he did get a kick out of making the kendoist late for school when he himself had nothing better to do all day.

After a few minutes of completely controlling his opponent, they had worked their way to a canal. Ranma removed his shirt, leaving his chest bare to leave no doubt as to what was about to happen. He dodged one swing, positioned himself, then stepped back as Kuno followed up with a downward cut into the water. He could not miss the change as Ranma was splashed.

"You wouldn't hurt a girl, would you?" Ranma-chan winked.

Kuno stared in shock, then hardened his expression. "What sorcery is this?"

"A curse, actually. Picked it up in China recently. Comes in handy sometimes."

"Against lesser foes, perhaps. Tatewaki Kuno is not to fall for such meager tricks!" And the battle resumed.

After several more minutes Ranma decided enough was enough. He had what he wanted. He slammed Kuno into a concrete retaining wall along a hillside, leaving a Kuno-shaped impression. He got up into Kuno's face just before the other boy could lose consciousness. "You're a thousand years too young to challenge me. I got some other stuff to do for a while. I'll be back in two weeks to start going to school with Akane. I'll expect those guys who bother her every morning to lay off. She's spoken for now."

"You will call me sempai..." Kuno said weakly before collapsing face first on the sidewalk.

Ranma was already casually heading down the street. At Furinkan, Nabiki would let word slip that Akane might have a suitor with a prior claim. The Hentai Horde would realize the stakes in their battles had been raised. They would have to defeat Akane and get their date done before her fiancee showed up. Word of Kuno's defeat would spread, their battle not having gone entirely unobserved, with some confusion about who his opponent had been.

Ranma would give the situation a few weeks to stir. He would be out of town, taking care of other threats.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga made his way across the field. As usual, he had no idea where he was. He had thought it was the road to Tokyo, but the signs started saying Nagasaki some distance back. Wherever he was, he had found long ago it was best to always keep moving. He would get where he was going... eventually.

Unless where he was going came to him. Which he found was the case now, as he looked up and saw a very familiar-looking figure standing in the road.

"Ranma..." He couldn't believe it. After three years, he had finally caught up with him! "RANMA!"

"Yo, Ryoga. Looking for me?"

"Ranma Saotome, today you will pay for all that you've done! Because of you I've seen HELL!"

"Nope. Uh-uh. I didn't do nothin' this time. You got lost on your own."

"I got lost looking for YOU!"

"You coulda got lost looking for the bathroom. You didn't need me to see Hell."

"You don't know the true depths of what you've done! Because of you, now I have this... this..."

"Curse? Turns you into a pig? I didn't knock you into that pool, not this time."

Ryoga was never one for rational argument. "Fight me, you coward! Meet me right here this time tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow? You'd better not move a step, then. Tell you what, we have our fight right here and now. Better get it over with."

"Gladly! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Ranma had to admit Ryoga was a better workout than Kuno. Almost as tough as his father. Almost wasn't good enough when you were fighting Ranma Saotome.

Ranma let Ryoga have ten minutes. Ten minutes of futility, ten minutes of getting nowhere, ten minutes of refusing to admit defeat.

Refusing to admit defeat doesn't mean you aren't defeated. Ranma ended the fight by leading Ryoga to a river. He calmed down considerably after becoming a pig.

"Now then," Ranma-chan said, holdiing the pig by the scruff of his neck. "If you want to cure this curse, you need water from the Spring of Drowned Man. You could just jump in the next time you're there, but I doubt you'd find the right spring even once you got there. I'm planning on having some water shipped in, though. I'll save some for you. You'll find me at the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts in Nerima in a few weeks. And watch out for the girl called Akane - she can be a mean one."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo Kuonji could not believe her eyes. After all this time, all her preparation, HE came to her. He actually REMEMBERED her.

They gazed at each other for long seconds. Ukyo's eyes full of hate, Ranma's trying to look friendly. Finally she couldn't stand it. "You got a lot of nerve showing up here!" She gave him an okonomiyaki in the face.

He casually peeled it off. "I DIDN'T KNOW! Okay? I didn't know about the engagement until a month ago. Heck, until then I didn't even know you were a girl! I always remembered you as a guy. A friend."

This brought Ukyo up short. "You... didn't know I was a GIRL? How do you miss something like that?"

Ranma shrugged. "So I wasn't the most observant kid. So sue me. I was happy go go through life one day at a time. I didn't know a lot of stuff going on around me. Pop never told me anything. Like how he was selling my hand in marriage like it was going out of style."

"Selling your hand in marriage? How many times?"

"I got my choice of about six or eight women for my fiancee. Including you."

This time she hefted her baker's peel and started swinging. She chased him out of her shop and into the street. "SIX OR EIGHT? You guys are enemies of all women! Ruining lives left and right!"

"Ruined?" Dodge, weave, jump. This was becoming a drag. Ranma knew it was going to be the same formula everywhere: challenger shows up with a load of anger and hatred, and couldn't be reasoned with until they had burned some of it off.

"Yes! I was ruined when you ran off! There was no way I was going to get a husband without a dowry! I couldn't even be a girl any more! I've had to live as a boy all this time!"

More dodging. Constant retreat. He could easily get her into a Huryu Shoten Ha this way, but he didn't want to knock her completely out.

Tsubasa Kurenai's head appeared from a trash can along the street. "Ukyo, my darling! Is this true? You have a -"

Ranma absently kicked the can out of the city. "Butt out! I got no time for you!"

Ukyo didn't pause. "Expect no mercy! When you abandoned me you made it impossible for me to embrace my own femininity!"

"Woah! Don't you think you're overreacting?" Ranma felt the flow lock in. The original history lines would lead right where he needed to go.

"Since that dark day I've sworn that I will never love another man!"

The final dodge. "What a waste. A cute girl like you."

That stopped her cold. Had he just said that? "Cyuh...?"

"Whod've thought little Ucchan would grow up so cute?"

"Cute..."

"Too bad no guy will ever -"

She batted him away. "You're lying! I'm NOT cute!"

"It's not a lie. You are cute." Now he had to improvise; he had no Akane to demonstrate Ukyo had a chance. "You're my cute fiancee. The one I'd rather have."

"The one you'd rather have? You don't mean that."

"Come with me. I'll show you. None of the others is a cute as you are."

Ukyo didn't look convinced. "Dammit. Alright, I'll look. But somebody has to pay for what's happened to me."

"Hey, if you want somebody to beat up, take it out on my Pop. He's the one that got us into this mess."

"Oh, I will. As soon as I find him, he's dead."

"Matter of fact..." Ranma said, "here he comes now."

A panda was coming up the street. Ranma dashed back inside Ukyo's shop and retrieved some hot water. Ukyo was staring down the panda when Ranma hit it from behind.

As was normal for someone seeing the curse of Jusenkyo in action for the first time, Ukyo's eyes popped. Genma didn't recognize her, giving her valuable time to recover. "YOU!" She renewed her attack, this time focusing on the proper target.

Ranma chucked, then joined in the fun. Setting things up was too easy these days.

- AN: In case it hasn't been clear, yes, he is Sailor Pluto. His girl form is the standard Setsuna Meioh appearance, taller than the normal Ranma-chan. I'm not sure it would be taller than Kuno. My assumption is that the Pluto transofrmation pen would be with the other Senshis', in Luna's keeping; which will be a problem...

Next: Meeting the Tendos


	5. Meeting the Tendos

Chapter 5: Meeting the Tendos

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

" " - Japanese

"% %" - Chinese

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Cologne had written down a list of Ranma's movements. First he had faced that boy in the field, then visited a few obscure schools of specialty martial arts, now this crossdressing girl in Osaka.

"%This certainly seems like an eclectic set of enemies. But when I interviewed them there were no signs of anything that should be the Lady's business. Maybe they are just the boy's problems. I would expect the Lady to have larger concerns.%"

Shampoo was still looking for hope for herself. She was having a hard time finding it. "%None of them could challenge him. He's learning too fast.%"

"%You still wish someone would kill him and free up the Prophetess for you? There is another way, you know. Instead of you hosting the Lady, you can marry the boy.%"

Shampoo perked up. "%Marry? How? He has no foresight in boy-form. He couldn't beat me then.%"

"%I daresay he could have beaten you if he had any other curse, or none. We pride ourselves in our skill, but there are better out there. I've seen too many like him and his father, sacrificing everything for their Art. They are often become absentee husbands, but husbands nonetheless.%"

"%But he said he preferred the cross-dressing girl,%" Shampoo said. She considered for a moment. "%Should I use the Formula on her?%"

"%No. We must trust he will have a plan by now. Let him follow it, and we follow him.%"

That evening they tracked him going into the place his father had been taking him when he got away. The Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Cologne wondered what sort of unlikely Art they practiced, and if he had yet another fiancee to put off.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma waited patiently on the Tendos' front porch as the panda came bounding up. "Yo, pop! Where have you been? I've been waiting for you." He had a thermos of hot water with him, which he quickly poured on the panda.

"I ought to teach you a lesson, boy. Things like this can't just be allowed to wait until you're ready! You have to MAKE yourself ready when duty calls!"

"Duty? More like your impatience!"

Genma merely scowled. "As long as we're here, we might as well get this started." He rang the doorbell.

Kasumi answered. "Welcome. How may I help you?"

"I'm an old friend of Soun Tendo. He should be expecting us. I sent a postcard."

"Oh! You are Mr. Saotome? Please come in."

"And could we have some hot tea please?" Ranma said as they went in past her. "We need to warm up."

"Of course. Father! We have guests!"

Ranma stood back as the men made their greetings and sat down. Nabiki and Akane came in to see what was going on. Kasumi had gone into the kitchen to set some water going.

"So, old friend! How are things going?"

Ranma showed him with a swift kick that sent his father into the koi pond. An angry panda emerged. Dinner-plate eyes around the table.

Ranma dropped his backpack on the floor and moved to the edge of the pond. "I'd say things are going real well for him." Splash. "Us."

Soun, of course, fainted.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Night fell. Curses were explained. Ranma felt his future firming up as everyone now had a first impression of him as male. Which wouldn't go far.

"...and my son now turns into this girl."

"I only LOOK like a girl," Ranma said quickly. "The curse don't cover thinking or acting like one. Pop trained me to be a 'man among men', and that's what I'm going to be. I'll find a way to break this curse, and then I'll be ALL man. So if any of you has any problems being married to a REAL man, you're not going to be happy married to me."

The older sisters were suddenly subdued. Soun took the time to introduce them. "My daughter Kasumi, 19. Nabiki, 17. And Akane, 16. Pick the one you want. She'll be your fiancee."

"Who does the cooking around here?"

"Why, Kasumi."

"Well... are you sure you want an older woman?" Kasumi asked. "Perhaps Nabiki..."

Nabiki got an evil twinkle in her eye. "Alright. If it'll make you happy, sis."

"Well, don't even THINK of me," Akane said. "I'm not having anything to do with this hentai!"

Ranma stood up. "Yeah, I guess this curse is kinda hentai by nature. I know more about girls now than any guy." Akane reddened with rage, imagining what THAT might imply.

"So it's settled then!" Soun and Genma began celebrating.

"Don't get too excited," Ranma said. "I won't be marrying anyone here. I got better fiancees to choose from."

"Fiancees?" the sisters all asked.

"Ignore him," Genma said. "These are your only choices, Ranma!"

"Ho, so you weren't serious about those others? Selling my hand in marriage for a rice bowl or an okonomiyaki yattai? Or have you forgot about all those?"

"What's all this?" Nabiki asked. "How many fiancees?"

"Who are they?" Kasumi asked.

"I KNEW he was a pervert," Akane said.

"Three others," Ranma said. "Only important one is an okonomiyaki chef from Osaka. She ought to be here in a few days."

Nabiki eyed Genma suspiciously. "Are you just wasting our time?" she asked. Genma had already turned back into a panda. "You are, aren't you."

"Also," Ranma said, "I got rivals. Being the best ain't easy, everyone wants a rematch when you beat 'em. One has a Jusenkyo curse - turns into a little black pig. You'll know him by a checkered yellow and black bandanna. And there's some Amazon women..."

"MORE girlfriends?" Akane asked. "Why don't you just go shack up with them?"

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea." Ranma leapt out the open side door.

Genma, already human again, leapt after him. "Come back here, Ranma! You can't run away from a burden of honor!"

The Tendos were left staring at the receding pair. "Daddy..." Nabiki asked, "are all of your friends like this?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma led his father on a good chase for an hour before returning to the Tendo household. Having spent their energy and rage for the night, they took a long soak in the furo. When they were done, Nabiki met him in the hall. "You seem to have quite the colorful life."

"Colorful isn't what I'd call it."

"Yeah, well, you might just fit in around here. That guy you beat up, Tatewaki Kuno, hasn't exactly got all his marbles. And he's got the other guys acting stupid as well."

"Yeah, the challenge to beat up Akane. That's part of why I did it, to get them to stop. Have they?"

"If anything, it's gotten worse. They think they have until you come to win."

"I'll let them play Kuno's game for a little while. I know Kuno won't believe I'd give up my claim on Akane until I'm actually married. Or she is."

"Well, Akane has more than our school to worry about. In the last few weeks she's been humiliated by Kuno's sister and a figure skating pair. They both claimed to practice martial arts schools I've never heard of."

Ranma grinned. That had been another point of his putting off meeting the Tendos: let Akane deal with her own problems. "We probably ought to just go through the Big Book of Martial Arts Schools and hit them all. There's some weird stuff out there - calligraphy, gourmet cuisine, tea ceremony, take-out dinners, stuff you wouldn't think could be done as martial arts."

Nabiki turned to go back to her room. She paused a moment. "Do I have a chance?"

"I've heard a bit about you, too. You'll play this whole thing for laughs."

Nabiki looked stung. She went into her room, and Ranma into his.

Shortly before dawn, even before his father woke up to start their daily training, Ranma got up and headed out over the rooftops. He landed right in front of the Amazons.

"Yo, old lady. We gotta talk."

Cologne merely smiled.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They were enjoying breakfast at a local restaurant. Polite introductions were made.

"We've been watching you for most of the time since your visit," Cologne said. "You have been handling yourself well against the unexpected. Just your training, or have you begun to use your powers?"

"My powers. I've seen the next year or so, or at least how it was originally supposed to go. I got a lot of crap to deal with."

"Yes, well, you can certainly simplify a lot of things in life with a little foresight, even without the power of prophecy. Always be prepared. The power of prophecy, of course, allows you to refine your future in an interactive way, practicing your life before living it."

"I've started to do that. I've hit a wall about a year from now. My mother will kill me if she finds out about the curse. And I mean literally. Ritual suicide."

"Oh my. That sounds rather extreme. Wouldn't she appreciate having someone of your abilities in the family?"

"Neither of my parents is entirely there upstairs, ya know?" Ranma gestured with circling finger near his head. "Pop ain't the greatest guy in the world, we've lived by stealing and cheating and freeloading. He's sold my hand in marriage to at least three people. Took me away from my mom when I was about two years old. She only let me go when she got Pop promised to make me a 'man among men'. She made him sign a contract that said we had to commit seppuku if I didn't measure up. I've seen her enforce it."

"Barbaric," Cologne breathed. "You should have ditched your father earlier."

"Yeah, well, I can't exactly get away from them. They're the only family I got."

"That can be remedied. But first... how much else do you know of the curse?"

"Just what the guide told me. Oldest of the springs, wise woman who always knew what was coming. That's about it." He looked at Cologne expectantly.

"A prophetess," Cologne said. "When our village was founded most of the Springs were not yet cursed. We bathed in them, drew water from them. One day one of our number bathed in a Spring we hadn't used before and emerged looking different. She soon began seeing things before they happened. We thought it was a gift from the Gods. Eventually we found it was a property of the Springs. We came to respect the power of the Lady, the spirit of the Prophetess.

"Ever since then the powers of the Prophetess have been held by members of our village. As long as someone has the curse, no one else has ever fallen in that spring - we assume it is part of the Lady's power. The other springs overwrite each other - if you fall in you are cursed to change into whatever drowned there last, but if you fall in several springs you only have to suffer the curse of the last pool you fell into. The Prophetess is different, more powerful. It cannot be broken."

"Yeah, I found that out for myself. If it can't be done that way, how CAN it be done?"

Cologne looked at Ranma with a dumbstruck gaze. "You... you mean you actually don't WANT the powers of the Prophetess?"

"Hey, if I could keep the powers, I would. It's the body. Even with my mother aside, it's really annoying. It's not the body I've been training with all my life. And people are going to expect me to act in ways I shouldn't have to learn."

"Hmmm. I see your point. Thus far the Lady has always been content to accept the candidates we offered her, and they were always female. Whenever a Prophetess died, the current champion of the annual tournaments had the right to go to Her spring. The last one died right at the beginning of this year's festival. We decided to go through with the festival as normal, with the champion going to the spring immediately."

"Is Shampoo prize!" Shampoo said, looking angry at Ranma.

"You mean THAT was what you meant? I stole your prize? I thought it was the food!"

"The food is also part of it," Cologne continued. "In normal years, it is the only prize. You could have just paid for that, or fought a challenge for it, though if you had been an actual woman Shampoo would have given you the Kiss of Death and chased you to the ends of the Earth if she were defeated."

*And they call US barbarians?* Ranma thought. Aloud, "So you didn't figure on someone else coming along and getting the curse? You didn't even post a guard?"

"The Lady chooses whom she will to receive Her powers. As I said, while someone has the curse, no one else can fall in her spring. Likewise, if no one has it, only the one she wants can fall in. It is no accident that you are now the Prophetess. The Lady wanted YOU," Cologne pointed at Ranma. "She wants something from you, wants to do something here in the outside world using you as her vehicle. We must find out what it is."

Ranma thought about that. "Okay, so we do what she wants and then we break the curse. How would you go about doing that?"

"Dear child, isn't it clear? WE don't know how to break the curse. We've never had to. As far as I know, it is only broken in death. Even if there is a way, it will only be possible once the Lady's work is done. Which may be a lifetime, you understand."

"If I can't find a way to deal with my mother... that won't be long."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After breakfast Cologne took them to a quiet rooftop with a shelter from the rain. "Your powers can do more than look into the future; they can see the past, as well," she explained. "Normally this isn't necessary, as the idea of being a Prophetess is to head of trouble *before* it occurs. Looking into things already done mostly happens when dealing with outsiders, which we tend to avoid, mainly during times of unrest or civil war.

"It is also possible, however, to look into the distant past and see history as it unfolded. You can see who was a true villain, who was a hero, what events were planned by conspiracies, what 'divinely ordained' things were in fact accidents. When you master looking into history you will even be able to see history as it never was: worlds where Nobunaga lived to unite Japan, or your country refused to open to the outside world."

"What do you mean? History didn't have to go the way it did?"

"Indeed not. During the Pacific War we received calls for intervention against your country. Our Prophetess looked into Japanese fortunes and saw them getting into war with the Americans, which guaranteed your loss. You understand when your opponent is faster and smarter than you and outweighs you by three hundred pounds you really aren't going to win if you don't land a lucky blow in the opening."

"Pop seemed to think we had a chance to take the fight out of them at some battle. Midway, I think."

"Ah yes. The Prophetess said your underestimation of the American will to fight would be your downfall. Their actions during the war proved you had no hope of scaring them into an armistice. As for Midway - if you had won that battle, you would be much worse off today."

Ranma blinked. "How does THAT work? You win a battle and end up losing WORSE?"

"You've never dealt with an extended campaign, of course." She became lost in thought for a moment, trying to remember. "I believe she said that if you took Midway, you could only hold it a year or so. Then the Americans would have a big enough fleet it wouldn't make a difference how you tried to defend, and would start to advance. But they wouldn't be in bombing range of Japan before the Russians joined the war, and they would have taken at least half of Japan, possibly the whole country. You would be like North Korea today. The Imperial family and anyone of samurai blood slaughtered, national treasures looted, even your language would change almost beyond recognition."

Ranma shuddered. "I get it. So I can see what DIDN'T happen?"

"Patience. We will begin by looking into the past. You will go into very deep meditation and try to see the founding of our village four thousand years ago."

"Okay..." Ranma assumed his position, closed his eyes, and began his breathing exercise.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

She shivered, partly from being naked in the cool night air, partly from knowing what was about to happen. Her shins were being rubbed raw as she was dragged over the dirt. The youma holding her had practically cut off circulation in her arms.

They were in a valley full of natural springs in a remote mountain region. Magic circles were set up about the area, charged with power, mages in them chanting to maintain their spells. A palpable aura of great evil hung over everything.

Her captors stopped at the edge of one of the springs, near the middle of the field. One of them grabbed her hair and raised her head. She looked up at a man in the uniform of a general of their forces. A man she thought she new. *Not well enough...* she thought, cursing herself for her blindness. She, who could see farther and deeper than anyone.

She looked into his eyes. Eyes once so full of warmth, now so cold. They eyes of her lover. Her betrayer.

"Surprised?" he asked. "Nothing else surprises you. But me? You agreed not to look at me, to give me privacy..."

"Exactly," she said in a hoarse voice. "Exactly why I'm not surprised now. It doesn't take time-sight to know only you could have done this."

"Ah, well. What's done is done. And what's about to be done..." He made a sweeping gesture. "Do you like what we've done with this place? It took us years to figure everything out. The design of the circles, their placement, the spell chants, gathering materials..."

"They were PEOPLE!" she shouted. "You murdered them! Took their souls... men. women... children..."

The man only tsk'ed. "Work like this always demands souls. These pools are now charged with a novel enchantment. Polymorphing curse, water-triggered, temperature-sensitive. Whoever falls into one of these pools changes into whatever person or animal drowned there last. They change back under hot water... a curse this powerful requires some intermittency. It will make useful spies, and versatile warriors. And you, my dear, get to become the first one."

She tried to spit in his face, but here throat was too dry. "You can't win. The other Senshi will defeat you! they will avenge me!"

A low laugh. "My dear, did you think we would be content to merely *remove* you from the picture? Several of our proud soldiers have died in duels over the right to be the first to bathe in your pool. Your powers will work for OUR side in the coming fight. I think we will have quite a strong hand." He leaned down, getting very close, face-to-face. "The time of your kingdom is past. The future ...heh heh... is OURS!"

She screamed her rage as they weighted her arms and legs. She was still screaming as they threw her in. She struggled in futulity to hold her breath, until the darkness overcame her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma opened his eyes with a gasp. "The pools... the curses..."

"You saw?" Cologne asked. "The first Prophetess was quite surprised. It took some time to learn all the details..."

"No... I don't think it was your prophetess. This was... the Lady herself. How she died. How the pools got cursed."

Cologne eyed him with great interest. "Do tell. None of our Prophetesses has ever seen that. All have tried, but the Lady has never allowed them to go so far back."

"There were these... monsters... youma, I think they were called. And some guy, a general in their forces. The lady was ... a guardian, a... Senshi... of some kingdom. The general was her lover... he betrayed her... there was a lot of magical stuff...circles and wizards, casting a spell that created the curse on the springs..."

Cologne considered this. "This must be important. Perhaps this General's spirit is lurking around somewhere. Try again. Let us see if we can find him..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma wasn't able to get any further images from ancient times. After some work looking into history, Cologne had him go over what he had seen of the near future.

"I'm sure the Wishbringer sword has something to do with this," she said. "If you try to use it to break your curse, does it work?"

"Not if I ask it directly. I'm going to use one to 'break ALL Jusenkyo curses' - that ought to take care of Pop, Ryoga, Taro, Mousse, the Musk, and Rouge, but not me."

"Mousse? He no have curse," Shampoo said.

"He will. Right now its still uncertain what... best chance is Spring of Drowned Duck, but could also be Moose, or a few others. Unless you want to keep him here. He's followed you. He arrives in a few days."

"Bother," Cologne said. "Another pest, one that troubles us as much as you. Well, we know how to deal with Mousse. What else will you use the wishes for?"

"I need one to break my fear of cats. That's real important."

"Fear of cats? Surely it can't be so bad you would need to waste a wish on it. You can learn to defeat any fear by more mundane means."

"Nekoken."

Cologne was aghast. "You can't be serious."

"I tell you, my pop is insane. He threw me in a pit of starving cats wrapped in all kinds of bait several times. I can't function around them."

"I'll have to have words with him. It would appear that wish is well used. That gives us one wish to deal with the Lady's concern. It could be enough, if the concern is simple enough. Try and focus. Let us see what wishes you might make that the Lady would need done."

Ranma tried to image the near future again, but now everything seemed clouded. "It's no good. I can't get anything."

Cologne sighed. "An occasional hazard, when several equally probable futures are competing. People must be doing things right now that impact your choices. You will have to return to the Tendo home and join your life with them for a while. We will come with you."

"I don't want them knowing about my curse. Nabiki would get real interested in the engagement. First she'll take it herself, then she'll decide to dump me on Akane."

"Won't they consider Kasumi? She seems like a nice girl."

"No. They don't even want her on the table. They think she's too good for me. She's exactly the kind of girl a regular Japanese guy like me should want. Except I'm not so regular, especially these days. And the age gap..."

"What gap? Three years? That's common enough."

"For a guy being older than a girl, sure. For a girl older than a guy, at our age... three years might as well be thirty."

Cologne shook her head. "Youth! Always allowing yourselves to be tripped by trivialities. Well, if you don't want any of them you should consider Shampoo."

"Shampoo?" He looked at the young warrior. "Why? I got a lot of honor issues to solve by marriage, and she won't help any of them."

Shampoo walked up and tried to kiss him. He dodged, checking the next few seconds. "Ohhhh no! I got too many fiancees as it is."

"Drat," Cologne huffed. "Well, you are an exception to many of our laws. I'm sure you realize those exceptions will end if you do manage to remove the curse. But Shampoo cannot be said to have a valid claim under the circumstances. You would need to defeat her without the Lady's power. Well, as long as we can't get any further readings we may as well keep up your training..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I realize my authorial voice isn't the most consistent. Sometimes I wax poetic, sometimes I just want to cut to the chase. I also have trouble imagining how scenes of personal conflict go when the circumstances are changed. Events have gone off the rails already, with Akane and Ryoga knowing the truth about each other and Ranma arranging to move up Ukyo's entry.

As to how this will all be resolved: The curse is cured, after a fashion, but it will take something more powerful than the Wishbringer sword alone. It should be obvious what...


	6. Getting a Clue

Chapter 6: Getting A Clue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

They trained for several hours, until Genma caught up with them. The Amazons hid, not wanting to tip their hand to him just yet.

"What are you doing all the way out here, Ranma? You skipped our training this morning! That isn't like you. Are you getting soft?"

"I'm going to be doing a lot of my own training from now on. There's some stuff I want to try."

"You'll learn what I teach you! I know the best regimen for you. Now come along!"

Ranma made a show of grumbling but started following his father back to the dojo. "So how long are we going to be staying? A week?"

"Indefinitely. These are your fiancees, Ranma. You should get to know them."

"So am I going to have to go to school again? Last time we stayed anywhere long enough to do that was three years ago."

"School will be a good way to get to know them. You need more stability. You'll have to settle down with them and get used to staying in one place."

"Fat chance of that happening, the way stuff keeps coming at us."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma spent some time making small talk with Kasumi and Nabiki, drawing out admittances of the morning fights, Kuno's obsession, Akane's crush on Dr. Tofu, and from Nabiki, Dr. Tofu's crush on Kasumi. Looking ahead and laying the groundwork for relationships wasn't his style, or at least it hadn't been before now, but the Anything Goes philosophy was well-named.

That night Ranma had another dream of girls in sailor-themed bodysuits fighting monsters. It seemed like a sentai team. He had to file that away as another thing to look into when he had time.

The next morning he had to start going to school. "Akane will have to show you around," Nabiki said. "You're in her year. Maybe you can get to know each other better in class?"

"You'd better not talk to me," Akane said. "I don't want anyone calling me a weirdo."

"Trust me, they won't be calling you THAT," Ranma said. He bounded up to a rooftop.

"HEY! Get back down here! We need to be going to school!" Akane shouted.

"I know the way. I scouted the neighborhood yesterday. See ya there!" He bounded off.

Akane scowled. "Argh! BOYS!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma walked into the front gates and stood dramatically. He did not have to wait long.

"So, the vile sorcerer shows himself at last," Kuno said. It seems the hour of fate is at hand. This day the wrongs done me shall be avenged -"

He was interrupted by a boot to the face. "Do you want to get this over with or not?"

Kuno drew back. "Your tricks shall avail you nought this day. Indeed, they shall be your undoing!"

Ranma made no effort to dodge the water pail thrown at him. The other students gawked at the change. Kuno pointed with his blade, good steel this time. "See! Your other form is now a weakness! Surely you no longer have the strength to prevail against the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Ranma's setup now paid off. Kuno charged just as Ryoga had leaped the wall. They were both committed when their target jumped out of the way, crashing into each other. Ryoga's attack was more powerful, leaving a crater in the concrete with a dazed Kuno to one side.

"Ranma Saotome... PREPARE TO DIE!" Ryoga leapt up from his crater and chased Ranma about the yard. Ranma grabbed his umbella out of his hands and bent it double before throwing it to the far corner of the yard.

Ryoga was in the middle of creating divots in the yard with his fists, his target always leaping away, when a group of spatulas surprised him. "What are you doing to my Ranma?" Uyko called. Ranma noticed she was not made up in masculine dress right now.

"Who are you?" Ryoga asked, just as Ranma splashed him with a water pail. At that moment Akane roared into the yard and smashed into her horde of admirers, who were so absorbed in Ranma's battle they were defenseless.

Ranma walked calmly past the morning's devastation, following Akane into school. He loved it when a plan came together.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At first break, everyone had questions for Ranma. What it felt like to be a girl. What his girl form's measurements were. What his relationship to Akane was.

"You're her fiancee, aren't you?'

"Not if I can help it."

"But... I mean... everyone wants her! All those guys trying to date her!"

"I could have handled those guys myself," Akane said. "I do it every day."

"That I don't get. Why would they want to date an uncute girl like you?"

He got a desk over the head. "Jerk."

"You see?"

The rest of the day was spent largely answering questions between classes. Ranma had to explain to everyone about the curse, the engagement, Ukyo, and Ryoga. During lunch there was an obligatory appearance from Kuno declaring he had not been defeated. "I shall force you to relinquish your claim to Akane's hand and free her to marry her true love!"

"Which ain't you," Ranma said. "Face it, Kuno: you burned your bridges with her. She don't like guys who come on strong, like you did. You woulda done better with a soft and friendly approach."

"Silence! You know not of what you speak. You who have only been here but a day would not know Akane as I do!"

"Let me guess: Nabiki told you the same stuff and it went right over your head."

Kuno left without further comment. "Notice he didn't argue the point," Ranma said.

As they left for home at the end of the day they were met by Genma, who grabbed Ranma in a headlock and bounded for the dojo. "You're not getting out of training this day, boy! You've got to stop slacking!"

Ranma easily slipped out and leapt to the canal fence. "I'm not slacking! I'm just not training YOUR way!"

Genma leapt to match him. "Ranma -" Trip. Splash. Running battle all the way home, unable to answer his son's insults.

During sparring before dinner, Ranma was predictably changed. Ranma-chan found her attention drawn to the newspaper Soun was reading. It felt as if she were supposed to read it. The momentary distraction cost him a few lumps. She filed it away for after dinner.

After practice, soak, and the usual battles over food with his father, Ranma took up the newspaper, finding a page 2 story with a picture of a girl in a striking outfit. White body suit, sailor collar, short skirt, blond hair done up in a style Ranma-kun thought ridiculous - two balls of hair on top, with streamers down to her knees. She was facing away from the camera.

Ranma had to laugh. "Who's this?" He began looking over the story.

Nabiki saw Ranma checking out the article. "Some new sensation," she said. "Girl in some kind of sentai outfit going around in Juuban. I'd think it was publicity for some game or TV series, but there's been serious property damage."

"Monsters...?" Ranma muttered. "What kind of martial arts is she using?"

"They haven't said. Why? Are you looking to join her?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those outfits."

Kasumi came over. "I think your girl form would look great in one of those."

"I'd look better," Akane said. "I'd make a great sentai hero!"

"Yeah," Ranma said. "The monsters would choke to death just looking at you."

"Grow up," Akane said, giving him a splash of cold water.

*Amazing how fast she can get a glass of water these days," Ranma-chan thought. Then she looked back down at the newspaper.

Her blood ran cold. Now in girl form, she recognized the girl and the suit she wore. She had, in fact, worn one of those outfits. This, she knew, was what she was here to do.

She cast her time-sight forward and saw the paper reporting another battle in one week. So, six days before it actually happened. She would be ready to face this 'Sailor Moon'... and whatever monster was following her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma went to sleep that night in girl form. Hopefully she would get a clear picture of who this girl was and who the Prophetess had been.

She saw many battles against many monsters. The only thing more pathetic than the monsters themselves was the blond girl's performance against them. She was a ditz, a klutz - far more than Akane - and knew all the martial arts moves of a TV junkie. She was always running away from battle and had to be saved by some joker in a tuxedo. Ranma got the feeling she was just going through the motions and didn't really want to be doing this.

There were now two others in her team: Sailor Mercury in a blue outfit and Sailor Mars in red. Both had bravery and fighting spirit, but far less power than Sailor Moon, who for some reason their advisor treated as the leader.

The advisor he knew only by voice; when he tried to look at her directly he blacked out. She was very small, that much was clear - some kind of fairy sprite? That sounded about right for a sentai team of girls.

On the way to school that morning his mind shifted to more immediate concerns. He was beginning to regret forcibly revealing Ryoga's curse to Akane and the school; it made his previous scouting of his future obsolete. Some of it had looked like fun, and it wasn't as if he cared what happened between Akane and Ryoga.

Today he knew Ukyo would start attending Furinkan. Without Ryoga's fixation on Akane there would be no battle with him today. Indeed, Ranma found him camped out just outside the gate, apparently having taken Ranma's advice not to move a step lest he get lost.

"Maybe you'd better camp out in the boy's room," Ranma said.

Ryoga wouldn't be baited so easily this time. "You will not escape me any more, Ranma! When I am ready we will fight our duel here!"

"You know, we're both still getting better. Might as well leave a final matchup for when we've peaked."

"That would take years!"

"Well, in that case, you might as well... GET LOST!" Ranma gave him a boot that sent him flying over the rooftops.

Akane was coming up. "I hate boys... I hate boys..."

The horde of admirers, however, wan't in a mood to fight this morning. "Akane, we shall no longer challenge you," one said.

"We shall instead wallow in our sobs and give our approval to your engagement to Ranma," another said.

Ranma sweatdropped. "Some things just can't be helped..."

Kuno stood apart from the crowd. "So, they reveal their true weakness. They know not the code of Bushido as I do. Tatewaki Kuno does not admit defeat!"

"Doesn't mean you WEREN'T defeated," Ranma said.

"Kuno was the greatest fighter at Furinkan High!" the first boy said.

"Yeah! And the greatest hentai!" the second chimed in.

"Hentai?" Kuno said.

"If it's Ranma you've chosen, then we shall give you up."

A line of spatulas hit the ground at his feet. Ukyo jumped down from the wall. "What's this about Ranma being engaged to Akane?"

The horde and Akane turned to Ukyo. Unfortunately, Ukyo was in her boy's school outfit. There was no way this was going to end well.

"Who's this?" the first boy asked.

"Ukyo Kuonji's my name. I'm an old friend of Ranma's."

Akane remembered that name. "Wait, Ranma... didn't you say Ukyo was your finacee from Osaka?"

"She's been hiding out in a boys' school. Long story."

Akane didn't look like she was buying it. "This I have to hear."

"Fiancee?" the second boy asked. "Then... Saotome... is like that...?"

A third boy was putting the pieces together. "That girl he turns into... is that his real form?"

"Who are all these guys, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked.

"This here's Akane. These are just some of her admirers. You don't have to hide anything from them." He turned to the crowd. "Ukyo's actually a girl... don't let the uniform fool you."

The horde wispered among themselves. "A girl?" "A cross-dresser and a transgender?" "That's only natural, isn't it?"

"Exactly," Akane said. "Two perverts. Just perfect for each other."

"Who's a pervert?" Ukyo said.

"It's not so much that we're perverts," Ranma said. "It's that Akane's a prude."

"A what? What did you call me?" Akane gave Ranma a bash over the head.

"Also a violent maniac," Ranma said.

"Is it true?" the horde spokesman wanted to know. "If Ukyo is your fiancee -"

"Yup. Akane is free. Go on with your challenge."

"Gee, thanks!" Akane glared at him.

"Hey, you said you could take care of them."

The others were ecstatic. "Then we have a chance! LET'S GO!"

Ranma left the ensuing morning workout behind. Ukyo fell in beside him. "Is it like this every morning?"

"Just wait," Ranma said with a grin. "The best is yet to come."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Pedestrians on the street were startled by the sound of breaking glass. High above the street someone had flung themselves out of a skyscarper window. But this was no despondent executive: those looking up saw the figure emerging from the hole had wings, and flew in a straight line over the city for some distance before slowing to a hover. With all eyes on this creature, almost no one noticed the schoolgirl step up to the edge of the hole left behind.

Almost. One person was looking at her. One person saw her raise her hand, flare with light, and become covered by ribbons which formed a costume.

*Gotcha,* Ranma-chan thought. *Now to see where you live...*

She steeled her nerves, stifling her terror at the sight of the cat next to Sailor Moon. Was that the advisor? She realized it had to be when the super-heroine picked the cat up before leaping down to the street, a vertical drop Ranma couldn't have made uninjured in male form. *So awakening this cursed form's powers will be a BIG power-up!* Ranma-chan grinned.

Dealing with the cat would be a problem. He would have to ask the Amazons to help. The next youma battle would be in another week. Plenty of time to craft a contact strategy.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"When are you going to tell your fiancees about us?" Cologne asked. "It would be so much simpler if we could work with you openly."

"It's not exactly a trivial problem," Ranma said. "Greed, pride, no discipline, not thinking AT ALL... give them a billion-yen lottery prize and they'd waste it in literally months."

Cologne considered that. "We will have to move slowly, then," she said. "Tell them the powers are just starting to manifest, and aren't reliable. Let them try to use you to make a little money, and end up losing."

"Won't work," Ranma said, "but I don't see any way that will. I'd say let's try next week."

"Very well. For now, I have something. Shampoo!"

Shampoo brought out a tray with barbering equipment, including bottles of hair shampoo and one flask. "Shampoo is a master of certain herbal-wash enhanced shiatsu techniques to manipulate memory," Cologne said. "Formula 411 can be used for selective memory supression. If someone finds out your secret, we can make them forget you even exist. If someone then tells them about you again, they will forget within minutes. Formula 911 undoes the effect."

"Handy. And this one?"

"This flask is formula 711. It's in a flask because we didn't carry a ready-made bottle with us. We weren't expecting to need it. We have spent the past few days gathering ingredients."

"What does it do?"

"A meditation aid. I'd like to use it to help look into your future, particularly with these 'Senshi'. Set your intent to get to know more about them and what they do in the time before you meet your mother."

Shampoo's technique was very relaxing in itself. Ranma found his trance to be as vivid as a nightly dream but as controllable as normal meditation. He was able to report his findings and hear Cologne's instructions. "Newspapers... TV reports... next week at an auditorium... then a cruise ship ...woah! The enemy general goes public... an airport... " This continued until one year out, with Ranma's mother showing up. Ranma was able to avoid revealing himself to his mother in either form. At about one year, there were no further reports of the Senshi. Just after that all went gray.

"That usually means you can't look any further without making choices. Now let's try befriending the Senshi. Present yourself as one of them."

They soon worked out a plan for presenting themselves to the Senshi. This proved less helpful than hoped. They were able to get the cat to reveal Ranma's, or rather the Lady's, identity. But things went fuzzy when they did.

"It's something that you'll have to actually do. Very well, let's see what you can do to help them without being a magical girl."

They found out much about the Senshis' situation just by being allied over the next year. Ranma protested that he would have to cut ties with everyone in Nerima after a point, but Cologne pressed. They were going after information, not a plan.

Information they got. The Moon Kingdom, the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl, the generals, and one thing Ranma immediately knew was the key to everything.

"Guinzuishou..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: The basic idea for this fic came from some "Ranma Gets A Brain" type fics like "Whan Bakas Learn" where he starts dealing with his life in a more rational, disciplined, un-Ranma-like way, or "Mirrors Multiplied", where he has the benefit of hundreds of lifetimes perfecting his approach. My own idea was to give him the powers of a prophet, affording some ability to perfect his actions before committing to them, though in later chapters he should find he does not have enough time to find the optimal path and will have to make do with skipping over the early stages of learning his situations.

Next: Contact


	7. Contact

Chapter 7: Contact

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"HIII -YAAAA!"

Akane shattered another pile of bricks. A satisfying release of tensions. She needed it as much as before, in spite of having the horde of admirers lay were at least normal guys. Since Ranma came to live with them, her problems with normal guys were being replaced with problems with some absolutely strange people. She didn't like where her life was heading at the moment.

"Ranma... this is all YOUR fault," she muttered.

The object of her ire walked in. "What did I do THIS time? Other than live?"

"Isn't that enough? All I want is a normal life. A life where I don't have to deal with sex-changers or animal-changers or cross-dressers or whatever else is following you."

"Heh heh. We belong to the same school. Our pops trained together for years. Are you SURE your Pop didn't get you into any more engagements than my Pop did for me?"

Akane's eyes narrowed. "He wouldn't!"

"Actually," Nabiki said, coming into the dojo with a notepad, "I'm afraid he might. Ranma's had me check out a few obscure schools of martial arts, and, well, it looks like we do have at least one commitment. Some French cuisine thing."

Akane sweatdropped. "See? You bring all kinds of weirdness wherever you go!"

Ranma held up his hands. "This one was made years ago," he said. "They would have come to ask about you guys even if Pop and I had never come."

"Gahh. So then, are they going to want a good cook? Maybe Kasumi can take it..."

"Then who'd cook for us?" Nabiki asked. "You? You know how your cooking has been doing."

"I'VE BEEN GETTING BETTER!"

"Yeah. We pass out after three bites instead of one."

Ranma was rubbing his temple as if stressed. "Sounds like there's a challenge there for you, Akane." He turned to Nabiki. "Should I?"

"What did you have in mind?"

Back to Akane. "How about you eat nothing but what you cook for yourself for a week? Nabiki, I take it you can come up with the right incentive?"

Nabiki had one of her trademark Evil Grins. "This sound like fun..."

"I'll do it!" Akane said. "Whatever it is I'll do it!" She ran off to soak in the furo before hitting the kitchen.

"Headaches, Ranma?" Nabiki asked as he rubbed his temple again.

"A bit of stress. Your sister isn't the easiest girl to deal with."

"And yet half the school is after her. Go figure."

Ranma smiled to himself. Akane would be sick as a dog for the next week and unable to interfere with whatever was to come. One less bit of stress in his life. The headaches he had no doubt were from constant use of his future-sight. There were now significant blind spots in the near future; he knew less about the next week or so than he had about past weeks since gaining his curse.

Well, at least he had already simplified things to where he could deal with them without using the sight. He would give it a rest for a week. Tomorrow's youma battle and the meeting with Sailor Moon had been gamed out. He could just go in and follow the script. Hopefully that would also clear up some blind spots.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The auditorium was becoming a battle scene. Usagi had come to see a talent show some of her friends were trying out for and found the celebrity MC had been replaced by a youma. She ran into the seats, ducking to the floor to hide.

"Trying to run?" the youma said, scanning around. It lifted off the ground and flew over the seats, not finding Sailor Moon where expected. "Where did she go?"

Usagi huddled down on the floor. "Luna, where are you? Where is she when I need her?"

"You don't need her," a voice whispered from the next row up. "You need me."

Usagi looked over to see a woman crouching low. "Who are you?"

"One of you, I think. A teammate. I'll distract that thing. Get your tiara ready."

"Teammate? I have a team?"

"No time to argue! Get ready!" The woman sat up, readying a leap.

Well, if someone was offering to help... She pulled off her tiara.

"There you are!" The youma spewed crystallizing fluid from its mouth at the stranger. She deftly leapt and dodged, striking the youma in midair. "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" There was a sound almost like a buzzsaw.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Usagi threw her tiara just as the woman kicked off from the youma, flying to the balcony. The tiara shattered the youma into crystal shards, which fell lifelessly to the floor.

On the balcony the newcomer turned to face another: Tuxedo Mask. "Looks like you get a break this time, tux-boy," she said. "Don't go slacking, though. She's going to need you for a while."

The man's expression was, of course, unreadable behind the mask. After a moment he simply nodded and left. The woman leapt down to join Usagi on the floor.

"Thanks," Usagi said. "Usually Tuxedo Mask helps me, but I'll take all the friends I can get. Ummm... who are you, though?"

"Call me... Setsuna. I believe you have an... advisor who can prove my identity. I'll need her help."

Usagi looked down at the floor. "Luna! Where are you? Do you know this woman?" Not seeing her cat on the floor, she ran up to the hall.

There was a girl in the hall holding Luna tightly, a hand over the mooncat's face. Next to her was a wizened old woman on a staff. Usagi noted the girl was wearing a purple wig, or maybe a dye job. One of the contestants, no doubt.

"Some of my friends," Setsuna called from the auditorium.

"I am Cologne," the old lady said, "and this is Shampoo. Setsuna has... issues in dealing with normal cats, to say nothing of magical talking ones. She will have to keep her distance. Come, let's get out of here before people start to wake up."

Usagi looked around. Energy-drained people all around the auditorium were starting to recover. It was time she made good her escape. "Okay. Let's go."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hikaru Gosunkugi almost couldn't contain himself. He had found it! He had Saotome's weakness! Following him in boy and girl forms had paid off.

"Cats... I wouldn't have thought it would be something like that... but if it works..." He headed off to tell Kuno. Ranma would soon be brought down and Akane would be free again!

Then he would only have to deal with Kuno as competition. If only he could arrange for the two rivals to kill each other...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They stopped in an alley a short distance away. Normally Usagi would return to civilian guise here, but these new people would want to talk to Sailor Moon.

"Usagi-chan, I don't know about these people," Luna said. "How do we know you aren't with the enemy?"

"I believe you have the means to verify that," Cologne said. "You have some test for the Senshi? Check Setsuna."

Usagi turned to Setsuna. The woman stood a good twenty feet away, blindfolded. "You really have issues with cats, don't you?" she asked.

Setsuna nodded. "Just get this over with," she said with a distinct edge to her voice. Usagi noted the woman's hair was tinted green. Had she also come as a contestant?

Luna concentrated a moment. A cone of light emitted from the crescent mark on her forehead, shining on Setsuna, then focusing into a beam on the corresponding point on Setsuna's forehead. A mark like a combined Latin alphabet letters P and L appeared.

"The mark of Pluto!" Luna said as the beam faded. "So... you are Sailor Pluto!"

"Ah," Setsuna said. "So I am one of you. What do I have to do to use my full powers?"

"Oh my... this is... unusual. I have transformation pens for all the Inner Senshi... but Pluto is an Outer Senshi. I don't think I have their pens..."

"A transformation pen?" Cologne asked. "How would that work?"

"Well, talismans, originally, but I've modified them to take the form of pens so the Senshi could carry them without drawing attention. They would hold them up and call out a transformation phrase. For you, it would be "Pluto Planet Power Make Up."

"Make up?" Setsuna gave a chuckle. "Great. More girly stuff. So, if you don't have my pen, who does?"

"I'm not sure. My memory still hasn't recovered from hibernation. But I think Pluto had special duties. She wouldn't have worked with the Inner Senshi. They guarded the peace of the Solar System from within. The Outer Senshi protected against external invaders."

"Huh. Well, you won't be seeing much of me for a while. I have some things to deal with on my own. We should be on the lookout for any other Senshi, Inner or Outer, and find out how to get my talisman. I have some of my powers, but if I'm really to be effective I need to be fully powered up."

"Can you help us find the Princess?" Luna asked. "She should be around somewhere. The heir to the Moon Kingdom, who should have the power to defeat the Dark Kingdom."

"Your memory really is clouded," Setsuna said. "Let's lay it out, here: What I... remember... is that you, Sailor Moon, ARE are the princess."

"EEEHH?" Usagi and Luna were aghast.

Setsuna nodded. "It's true. You might also remember an artifact called the 'guinzuishou'. It was used, I think, by the Queen of the Moon to destroy the Dark Kingdom the first time. It cost her life... and now you, princess, are the heir to its power."

"Guinzuishou..." Luna pondered. "I don't have anything like that in my keeping."

"It got split into seven shards," Setsuna said, "which are attached to the souls of seven people. Do you have any way of getting them out without killing their hosts?"

"All I have now are pens," Luna said.

"The Dark Kingdom will be after them as well, and they will have a crystal that can extract them. We should try to take that." She turned away. "It's time we got back. There are people waiting on both of us." She started to jog off.

"Wait!" Usagi called. "There's so much we can talk about!"

"It will have to wait," Cologne said. "We all need to be going." "Where can we find you if we need you?" Luna asked.

"You won't need us for a while. Not with that tuxedo-wearing boy around, and other Inner Senshi awakening soon. When we want to meet you again, we'll find you." Shampoo released Luna, and girl and old woman departed.

Usagi detransformed when they were out of sight. "This is getting so exciting, Luna! Other Senshi, code names, it's starting to feel like a spy thriller!"

Luna sweatdropped. "I don't think they were spies..." She was wondering about the Outer Senshi. There was too much she still couldn't remember.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Amazons had started a restaurant in the Nerima commercial district, calling it the Nekohanten. Ranma met up with them there.

"She knows," Ranma-chan said. "That cat knows everything. Do those herbal shampoos of yours work on cats?"

"No cat. Only peoples," Shampoo said.

"We can fudge that," Cologne said. "I can order some Spring of Drowned Girl water brought over."

"We have to get her to remember everything about the Moon Kingdom and the Outer Senshi. When I start getting clear visions again I want to -"

She froze. A white tiger wearing thick glasses had come wandering in.

"C-c-c-cat..." Ranma-chan fled out the back door.

Cologne eyed the tiger suspiciously. The glasses were a dead giveaway. She got a pan of hot water and doused the cat.

"Shampoo! At last we can be together!"

BONK. "Stupid Mousse! Shampoo no have time for you."

Cologne sighed. This was a complication she hadn't counted on. Now Ranma wouldn't be able to meet them here. And Mousse had to be kept away from him at all costs.

"Shampoo. You will need to return to China and get some Jusenkyo water. Generic Drowned Girl for the mooncat. And something small and controllable, and non-feline, for Mousse. We will need to move fast to keep control of our situation..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan had calmed down by the time she had arrived at the Tendo home. Now she knew there was more to her blind spots in future sight than stress. Her mental block against facing cats kept her from seeing things when there was a chance they might be involved.

She fetched a steaming kettle and changed back to male form. *Dammit... I can't let the guys from school find out about this. Kuno will start keeping cats around to get an advantage. I can handle him anyway, but..."

A rustle in the bushes attraacted his attention. So, someone was spying on him? "Not so fast!" He reached into the bushes to grab the spy.

"GYAAAHH!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Hanachiyo!" Kasumi exclaimed. The cat in question was sitting on Ranma's chest. Ranma was lying on his back, dazed.

"Ranma!" Akane checked him over. There were no signs of having been beaten up. But they had all come running at his scream. What could have done this to him?

Genma walked up with a pail of water. "Mr. Saotome?" Akane asked, wondering if he could guess what had happened to his son.

SPLASH. "COWARD! You call yourself a MAN!" Genma was clearly disappointed.

"Shut up! This is all YOUR FAULT!" Ranma-chan tried to charge but was brought up short by her father holding the Hanachiyo.

A short explanation ensued. "Ranma's weak spot is cats?" Akane asked.

"Sadly, yes," Genma said. "When he was 10 years old..." Faces paled as they listened to the tale of the Nekoken training.

"I can't believe it," Nabiki said. "The great Ranma Saotome afraid of a little kitty cat..." She held Hanachiyo forth. This time Ranma found his legs and ran off into the neighborhood at high speed.

"Pathetic," Genma said. "I'll have to train him all over..."

"Haven't you done enough?" Nabiki said drily. Genma, as usual, seemed not to hear.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At school the next day, Ranma found a letter in his locker - a distress letter from Akane, claiming she was being held hostage in the gymnasium. Given that Akane had come to school with him, this was less than effective.

Akane herself wouldn't let go so easily. "I want to know who wrote this letter," she said. Somebody was showing a distinct lack of imagination.

Ranma would have preferred to spring the trap and deal with the idiot up front, but he was getting very suspicious of the blind spots in his prophetic vision. It might signal word of his weakness had leaked out. He would have to confront Nabiki later. He gave Akane a shrug. "Check it out. I'm going to class."

"Don't you want to see who it is too?"

"I got better things to do than see what stupidity Kuno is cooking up."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Better things" included a meeting in a park with Usagi. Ranma brought a thermos of hot water for the necessary demonstration. Cologne was already sitting on a bench talking with Usagi.

"So how did you guys come up with your code names? It's like something out of a spy movie."

"Code names?"

"Yeah. 'Cologne' and 'shampoo'. Not what I would have chosen... okay, maybe I would..."

"Ah. They aren't code names, really. We're Chinese. Our names are written like this." She pulled out a pad and pencil and wrote down 'Koh Lon' and 'Xian Pu.'

"You've got to be kidding me. That's soo funny!"

"Yes, well, language curiosities aside, Setsuna here is... well, why did you choose 'Setsuna?' Feeling lonely?"

"With everyone that's after me? No way," Ranma said.

"Well, her actual name is Ranma Saotome, and she has more magic than just the Senshi powers affecting her. Go ahead and change."

Ranma dumped the thermos. Usagi was impressed. "Woah. You can turn into a BOY? That's just too weird. I don't even want to try that with my disguise pen. And what's with the water?"

"Ordinary hot water. It's a special curse Ranma has. Cold water changes her back."

"A curse? From the Dark Kingdom?"

"They cursed some natural springs near our village so that anyone who falls in one of them is cursed to transform into whatever drowned there last. Apparently, they made Sailor Pluto their first victim."

"Wow. That must be harsh, being unable to take a shower without turning into a guy."

Ranma chuckled. "Actually, it's cold water that activates the curse, and hot water that restores the original form."

"Hot water restores...? Wait a minute, you're saying -"

Ranma nodded. "I'm a guy."

"Ouch. But it's kind of cool, isn't it? You can hide from the Dark Kingdom this way."

"This ain't funny. I want to be a REAL man ALL the time. It's important."

"Oo. Sorry. I can see you might be sensitive..."

"The form of Sailor Pluto isn't all the curse bestows," Cologne continued. "Her great power was apparently of prophecy. Whoever has received the powers of Sailor Pluto has gained the ability to see the future."

"I bet that comes in handy. So do you know -"

"We knew your true identity before we met you. We knew when that battle would take place. We know who the other Inner Senshi are, and where they live." She gave them the names and addresses of Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter. "Venus, or Sailor V, is in England right now, so you will have to wait until she returns to Japan. She will contact you."

"Sailor V! I finally get to meet her!"

"We are working on tracking down the Outers. If what Luna said was true, they might not be of help to you, but it won't hurt to let them know who they really are. And we also know that as you and the other Inner Senshi are, you are not likely to defeat the Dark Kingdom and survive."

"Eep! I was going to...die?" Usagi paled.

"Fortunately, we are all trained martial artists. We can show you how it's done. You could stand to be a bit less sentai-posing-and-speeches and more ninja-attacking-from-shadows. We can train you, if you can stand for it. But first and foremost, you must accept who you are: a Warrior-Princess. You must be strong and brave, keep a level head in battle, and focus on your objectives."

"Now you're sounding like Luna. She tried to tell me stuff like that, but I have a life to live, you know?"

"I understand," Ranma said. "But we need your power. I got other commitments, other people I can't just blow off. And I don't want you getting mixed up with them, or them with you. Things are complicated enough as it is."

"There is something else we would like to try," Cologne said. "Shampoo is a master of some shiatsu techniques. She might be able to help you regain memories. She is running to China to get some things right now, so when she gets back we would like you and Luna to try it."

Usagi realized what this would mean. "A princess... I would become a princess ... oh definitely! This is great!"

Great wasn't what Ranma would call it. She had no martial arts training, no discipline, no fortitude. He was amazed she didn't trip over herself.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised when she did just that on a crack in the sidewalk.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I've seen 'Quantum Leap' type stories where one of the Ranma cast is sent back in time QL style to live their life again from the start of the series. They get the main advantages of being older, wiser, and knowing what's going to happen. If I had the time I would do a series of fics exploring what each of the main cast would do if transported from fifty years in the future:

Ranma: Would land at the point he is being carried into the Tendo home on his father's shoulder, in girl form. Demonstrates curses before Soun can pass out. Knows his best chance for happiness is Ukyo, so he takes the engagement to Akane provisionally but avoids getting close to her or treating her well. Willing to bargain with Shampoo, offering a secret marriage. No longer automatically antagonizes people, thinks before he says things, has gotten over his pride and is past the stage of needing to enjoy being single.

Akane: Has grown up, no longer a man-hater, accepts engagement and explains the niceties of civilized behavior to Ranma. Moves to cure his curse ASAP.

Nabiki: comes back with the knowledge of devastating warfare in the future, which Ranma can be instrumental to winning/preventing, IF he isn't fixed up with Akane. Reluctantly, she takes the engagement, and begins to study martial arts again.

Kasumi: takes the engagement, over Nabiki's protests. She knows better now that Ranma and Akane don't really work out.

Shampoo: Already in Japan. Goes straight to the Tendo house. Steals Ranma away in the middle of the night and effectively controls him all the way to China. Cures his curse immediately, then bargains: he does not have to stay in the village, and she does not care if he has "mistresses" elsewhere, as long as they have children. And they have to kill Happosai...


	8. Confrontations

Chapter 8: Confrontations

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Furinkan High School was a bit quieter these days. The morning fights had finally stopped; the teachers breathed a sigh of relief at the removal of a major distraction, and not having so many students late for homeroom. Not that Akane's admirers had lost hope. They had merely begun to see it might take more than defeating Akane alone to get a date with her.

Tatewaki Kuno held court in the schoolyard, insisting that Ranma Saotome had to be defeated if there were to be any chance of Akane becoming available. "He is a perceptive enemy. He knew well of your trap. Finding a way to strike at him through his weakness will not be an easy matter."

"It can still work!" Gosunkugi said. "We just need a better way to lure him to the cats..."

One of these others, a boy named Ichiro, agreed. "This time I write the note."

"I doubt any note will attract his attention," Kuno said. "The simplest plans are best. Leave them where he will have to go."

"He has gym class today," Gosunkugi said. "Will he go in the equipment room?"

"He will. I shall arrange it."

"It'll take more than that..." a new voice said from on top of the outside wall. Everyone looked up to see a long-haired boy in white Chinese silk robe standing there, hands hidden by his joined sleeves. His eyes were hidden by the glare of the morning sun off his thick glasses.

"You are late. If you seek the hand of Akane Tendo you should learn punctuality."

"I have no interest in this 'Akane Tendo'. I have my own reasons to kill Saotome." The boy jumped down from the wall. "In case you hadn't noticed, he is very good at avoiding trouble. He sees it coming - literally. It's his other form. It allows him to see the future."

"The future? Who are you, that you would know this?"

"Mu Tsu, Master of Chinese Hidden Weapons Style. He has stolen a great treasure of my village. I intend to get it back. Your plan will work, with my help..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma had been edgy all day. His cursed form couldn't get clear images of today. His nightly dreams had been skipping over the near future for more distant weeks. He now had a good idea where to find Sailors Uranus and Neptune, but no idea what the next hour held.

"Saotome!" the phys ed teacher called. "You're on storage duty."

Ranma gritted his teeth. The duty schedule had changed. Kuno would have the power to do that. It must be some gambit of his. Well, he needed to stop relying on his cursed form's power and get back to his Anything-Goes roots, dealing with surprises.

They had been playing basketball; Ramna gathered the balls with a bit of Anything-Goes flair, throwing one at another and creating a cascade like a table of scattered billiard balls: hit the right one in just the right way and they all end up coming to you. His father had won a few games like that, he recalled.

He racked the balls and wheeled them into the equipment room. The door closed behind him - Mousse was standing there with a pail of water. He reached over to open a locker - dozens of cats came pouring out. He moved in front of the door, cutting off Ranma's escape.

"Hello, Saotome," Mousse said, upending the pail on himself.

And so it began, Ranma fighting Mousse, losing his mind by inches with each blow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan woke up in the school swimming pool. She was strangely dazed and exhausted. Something had happened... a blackout. What had she been doing? She tried to remember. Going into the equipment room after gym class to put basketballs away... and then... HE had been there.

She had fallen for it. Sometimes the simplest plans really were the best. Trapping him in a small room with a swarm of cats... and one really BIG cat. She cursed her stupidity. Of COURSE Kuno and the Akane Brigade were going to keep trying until they got it right. She just hoped he hadn't killed anyone while she was under.

Ranma changed back to male form in a restroom and made his way home. He quickly asked his father what had happened. Being in panda form, it took a while for him to sign the answers.

"Kissed Nabiki? Aw, no... I didn't..."

[YOU DID]

"Oh, man... did anyone see it?"

[EVERYONE]

"Great. I know what everyone is going to think about this..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ami's thoughts drifted on her way home. She was trying to relax and decompress before a heavy homework session after dinner. She had just got out of one cram school and was starting a new one next week. She didn't want to start slipping in the gap.

She was startled by someone falling from a rooftop to land right in front of her. The figure landed forcefully on the sidewalk in her path. She was even more surprised to see who it was. "Sailor Moon -?"

"That's me! You're Ami Mizuno? Pleased to meet you."

"Ummm... what do you want? Is there a monster around here?" Ami looked nervously around the street.

"Come with me. There's something you need to see."

A few minutes later they were in a back alley. A cat with a gold crescent on its forehead was there. "This is Luna," Sailor Moon said. "I believe we have something for you."

The cat leaped into the air, performing a somersault. An object appeared - a pen, Ami realized. "Take this, Ami. It's yours."

"That cat... talked..." Ami was beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep at school and was dreaming right now. That wasn't like her, she'd never had problems staying awake in class before, and hadn't shown any signs of stress from studying hard before now. Well, if it was a dream, there was nothing to do but go along. She took the pen. "Now hold it up and say, "Mercury Planet Power, Make Up!" the cat said.

"MERCURY PLANET POWER! MAKE UP!"

It happened fast, a flurry of light and ribbons and water and Gods knew what else. She stood there, now clad in an outfit like Sailor Moon's, blue-themed. "What on Earth?"

"They were right!" Sailor Moon said. "You ARE Sailor Mercury! C'mon, there's another one of us this way!"

Ami decided to stop questioning. If she woke up from this, she certainly wasn't telling anyone about it. She ran down the street after Sailor Moon.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Dinner was... tense. Kasumi's eyes drifted over to Nabiki, who looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. Akane was looking angry, though whether at him, or at her latest failed cooking attempt he couldn't say. Her face seemed to be breaking out in a rash.

"Ahmmmm... Nabiki... I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, Ranma. You ARE supposed to be choosing me, aren't you?"

"What? But... well..."

"You DO remember it, though?"

"That's the thing. When I'm like that... I have no idea what's going on."

"So... you'd have kissed anybody?" Nabiki laughed. "Don't give me that. You were acting on instinct. From the heart, you could say." She clasped her hands in front of her, looking up as if in romantic swoon. "Showing your true feelings!"

"But I don't -! I didn't -!"

Soun patted his shoulder. "No need to be modest. You'll make a great couple. I'm sure you'll do the right thing."

"It was just a KISS!"

"JUST a kiss? What are you, an American? Kisses still mean something on this side of the Pacific."

"Lucky thing he's NOT American," Akane muttered. "With them you're not safe even after you've had a few kids with them."

"It wasn't a real kiss! You're reading too much into this!"

"I'd say this is pretty real," Nabiki said, producing a photograph of the kiss.

"You had someone take a picture!"

"Gosunkugi had his camera. He was dirt cheap about selling the picture, too."

Ranma looked over the picture. It looked more like a cat's nuzzling than a human kiss to him. "How can you call this a real kiss?"

A line of spatulas embedded themselves in the wall in front of Ranma's face. "Ranma! I loved you! This is how you repay me?" Ukyo called from near the koi pond.

"Ucchan! Please! Ya gotta believe me! I-!"

"You said I was the one you were really going to marry! I was there! You could have kissed ME! Why HER?"

"I... uhhh..." Ranma had no answer for that.

"Well, FINE! If that's how it is! FLOUR BOMB!"

Ranma found he could not avoid taking his lumps.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You look like you've had better days," Cologne said.

"Mousse," Ranma said. "He was the tiger?"

"It's not easy keeping a Siberian tiger contained. Especially when it isn't actually a dumb animal. Him being blind dosen't help as much as you'd think. He's on his way back to China."

"Better late than never, I guess." He looked embarrassed. "I kissed Nabiki while I was under. Ucchan blew up when she found out."

"Young people are so jealous. You'll just have to make your choice clear."

"That's another thing. I'm not too hot on choosing anyone."

"One thing the Lady has taught us in all her various hosts is you don't have to be enthusiastic about doing what leads to your best future. Your feelings can catch up later. The important thing is to do what you must when the time is right."

"At least with her power you always knew what that was. I know Ucchan will calm down in a few days. Better than SOME people in this town..."

The Senshi bounded toward them and landed on the rooftop of the Nekohanten. Jupiter looked around. "Where's Usagi?"

"If she's late, that's her loss," Ranma-chan said. "Let's get started on training." Together with Cologne they started to explain basic operations: reconnaissance, moving silently, blindsiding enemies, preparing attacks quickly.

"...You don't want to announce your presence to the enemy, especially if there's no one around to be inspired by a speech. The youma certainly aren't intimidated. It just wastes time and give them the initiative..."

"...You don't have enough power right now to go head-to-head with a general. We really don't have any means to kill them ourselves. We just keep them from getting what they want and their rivals will do the rest. The Dark Kingdom isn't the most stable political system..."

"...You have to understand that until this war is won you have nothing better to do with your lives than fight and train and prepare. If your families are making demands that reduce your effectiveness against the enemy, you should run away for the time being and live here."

That last one had them all sweatdropping. "That's a little extreme, isn't it?" Jupiter asked.

"Yes!" Mercury said. "What will our families think?"

"Let them think what they will," Cologne said. "It's the sort of sacrifice true warriors have made since the dawn of history. Even if they never find out what you have done, there will at least BE a world for them to live in."

"If this goes on long enough," Ranma said, "you really can't avoid going public. Your parents won't let you fight, and the Dark Kingdom will kill millions of people around the world, and the Japanese government will demand your parents allow you to fight. If they refuse, it will be a race between the Dark Kingdom's assassins and the American Special Forces out to kidnap you. You can fill in the rest."

They could indeed. They threw themselves into training with renewed fervor.

Ranma led them in some katas and sparring practice. They eventually agreed on a suitably out-of-the-way place in the mountains where they could practice using their powers in team tactical exercises.

As they headed back to their homes Cologne huddled with Ranma-chan. "You were too easy on Sailor Moon when you mentioned she had to be a Warrior-Princess. You should have pressed her. She needs to understand the sacrifices to be made, as these other Senshi now do."

"What do you want to do? Kidnap her? That always ends badly for us."

Cologne sighed. "DOES she learn? Before the final battle?"

"Some. Not up to martial artist standards, but the therapy will help. Mostly she needs confidence."

"Well, as to the Tendos. How soon can they learn about your power?"

"Actually, there's a good opportunity after Shampoo gets back..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan was in a corridor of crystal. The floor was tiled in onyx; the walls and ceiling surfaces looked to be ordinary quartz. Beneath the surface, however ... She walked up to a wall and looked closely into it. Translucent backing material, but with some strange effect in it... some patterns here, lights there. A word swam up out of the depths of her mind: computronium. Warm to the touch; the heat of untold zillions of calculations per second.

These walls had more than ears. They had brains.

She walked through corridors, rooms, galleries, chambers, atria, up several flights of stairs, into a spire. At the top she emerged into a greenhouse garden. The outer walls were sheer transparent crystal - not quartz, these, she knew; solid diamond, cheaper in this age than glass. *And what age is that?* she wondered.

The view outside the windows showed the plan of the building: a complex arranged as a five-pointed star, angular towers close in to the central spire. Between the arms, well-tended gardens. *A palace,* she realized.

The city beyond seemed mundane, architecture much like the Tokyo she knew. Looking at the mountains and coastline around the area she knew it WAS Tokyo: over here, the bay was much the same; over there, Mount Fuji in its rightful place.

*What happened to all the buildings?* she wondered. *Shinjuku? The Imperial Palace?* Realization: This WAS the Imperial Palace - a new palace for a new age. The lord of this place was not lord of Japan, but King of the World.

She made her way down to ground level. The central chamber was filled with courtiers in a mad variety of costumes. At the far end of the chamber, a raised dais with side-by-side thrones guraded by four figures. On the thrones sat the King and Queen, he in gray tuxedo, she in butterfly-winged gown. She recognized them all on that dais, royals and bodyguards. She worked with them, trained with them, fought alongside...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan woke up. This dream felt somehow different from previous ones. Tokyo wouldn't have looked like that in the past; this had to be the future. But with the area so radically changed... how far? Centuries, had to be. What could it mean?

As she drifted off to sleep again, she thought she knew: Hope. Hope of what they might do if they won.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I'm trying to blend the Ranma manga with SM anime. I've worked out a rough week by week timeline for Ranma and assuming about one week per SM episode, and matching them up; next chapter is Episode 9.

Three's a tradition in Ranma fanfic of Ranma being raised by other fathers, who almost cannot help but do a better job than Genma of making him a functional human being. Some things I'd like to try sometime, if they haven't been done already:

Final Fantasy 8 crossover - when Ranma is six years old, he and his father meet Yojimbo (FF summoned monster, not seen in FF8 but in later games); they fight (Genma always willing to test his strength) and he uses the X-Zone attack, banishing them to another dimension. They end up in the FF8 world, in a battle zone, get separated, SeeD's find Ranma and take him in. Raised in one of the Gardens (not necessarily Balamb), years before the FF8 characters are brought in from Edea's care. At age 16, he takes his graduation mission as an Unarmed Combat Specialist. During the mission he runs into his father, a mercenary with the opposing forces, who has acquired a crystal capable of transporting them back to Earth. However, he dosen't know about GF's.

They land at Jusenkyo, continue their fight, get the usual curses. Ranma finds the dimensional transport had de-junctioned his GF, leaving him weak; he submits to his father, realizing he cannot win just now. On the way out of China, he finds Ramuh in a cave; the GF junctions with Ranma voluntarily. He draws magic at occasional spawn points on the way to the Tendos.

Ryoga would have a Titan GF, enhancing STR and VIT. Ranma's junctions would enchance AGI and SPI. Cologne would come with Leviathan. No other early series characters would have GF's, and most of the main series storylines are not affected by Ranma's power level.

Lost in the Myst - Ranma at age 10, Genma visits an obscure book dealer and picks up the training manual with the Nekoken, and the linking book to Myst.

Ranma separated from Genma, raised by Atrus. Eventually reunited with Genma, usual curses, arrive at Tendo household. Ranma more able to adapt to non-martial arts lifestyle, goes looking for materials to make his own linking books to various helpful worlds...


	9. Mistress of Time

Chapter 9: Mistress of Time

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Note: slight edits have been made to Chapter 8: Mousse is not heading back to China, but being held in Nerima where Cologne can keep him under control.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I hope you're happy," Nabiki said on the way to school.

"I told you, I don't remember it!" Ranma did NOT want to keep rehashing the kiss business all week.

"What?" Nabiki blinked. "Oh. The kiss." Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "You really don't want to give me a chance, do you?"

"It's not like I expect YOU to give ME a chance."

"I know how it is with guys. You can't admit your feelings, even to yourself. Girls love. Men... just use people."

"And certain pandas?" Ranma asked. "I am NOT going to be like Pop. I can be better than that."

"With who? Ukyo? Sounds like the cheap way out. She'll go on the road with you. One of us would just be a ball and chain, ne?"

"Cheap? It's called having chemistry. I don't see that happening with any of you."

"Huh. Well, that's not what I meant anyway. I was talking about the challenge to Akane." She looked over her shoulder at her younger sister, lagging behind from weakness and last night's poisoning, er, cooking.

"She's sticking with it so far."

"She's gone through five weeks worth of groceries."

"And you didn't factor that into her penalty?"

"Didn't YOU factor it into the challenge?"

"What do you want ME to do about it? I don't earn money."

"Well, neither does she. We're all just students."

"And yet YOU seem to have plenty coming in."

"I don't have that much to spare. Anyway, it was your idea, you really should pay for it."

"All right, you want me to bust some heads? That's about all I can do."

"Really, Ranma. There's so MUCH you can do..."

"You want me to be a waitress, don't you."

A gleam in her eye. "Something like that."

"Huh. We'll deal with it after school."

He expected her to know better by then.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At lunch Akane was again trying to force down the contents of a self-made bento. She turned to one of her frineds. "Gaahhh! Yuka, you used to have as much trouble with cooking as me. How did you ever learn to do this?"

Yuka shrugged. "Just practice, I guess."

Ranma looked at her questioningly. "Practice? How much?"

"Three or four hours a day, sometimes. When I didn't have so much homework."

"Uh huh. How long did this go on for?"

"Over a year. Why?"

"Akane, what were YOU doing all that time?"

"I was trying too!"

"All the time I've been here you've been doing martial arts practice that much. You been doing that since Yuka was as bad as you?"

"Grrrr..."

"That look on you says yes. So while other girls have spent their lives learning to cook and sew and... well, BE GIRLS, you haven't. And you wonder why you're so bad at it?"

Akane smashed her bento box over his head. "Ranma no baka!"

"Can't deny it, can you?"

Nabiki suddenly came in, glaring. "Ranma. We need to talk."

Ranma groaned and followed her out. Mousse would have mentioned his powers when he offered his services to Kuno. Word would have gotten around by now.

In the hall, she had a pail of water waiting. She produced a hundred yen coin. "Call it."

Twenty flips. Seven guessed right. She splashed him. "Again."

Twenty more. She was good at reading people. Ranma had been horrible at keeping secrets (never having any before this curse) and was still working at it now. He saw she would know if he were faking it. He got all twenty correct.

"I know how we're going to pay for those groceries. And a HELL of a lot more besides." She headed back to her class.

Ranma sighed. "And so it begins..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At the end of the school day Kuno, his kendo club, and Akane's admirers tried a series of surprise attacks most of the way home. Ranma had not bothered to game out the sequence; the effort was pathetic even by his normal martial arts standards. But it did give Cologne a chance to play cavalry coming to the rescue in view of Akane and Nabiki.

Ranma had just dodged a series of attacks and was up against a wall when some other boys dropped a large box of boulders on him. He feigned surprise and held his ground. Cologne jumped out of nowhere and shattered the boulders into gravel with a series of precise strikes.

Ranma dug himself out from under the gravel pile. Akane was only partially buried and climbed out on her own. Nabiki had been ignored by the atttackers and came running up from one side.

"An old ghoul...?" Nabiki muttered. "Who are you?"

"I come from a small village in China, where this boy got his curse. We have business with him."

Nabiki's eyes lit up. "Business, huh? I'm his manager. I charge a thousand yen an hour rental fee."

"We are not paying him as a contractor. He belongs to us now. It is our law." She handed Nabiki an amended copy of the Amazons' law book.

"Well, come with us and we'll discuss it..." She began reading through the book.

"What did you steal from THESE people?" Akane demanded.

"Other than the usual food, nothing," Ranma said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"A prophet?" Soun and Genma were suspicious. They didn't want Ranma becoming some sort of priest on them.

"Is that one boy who turns into a tiger related to you?" Nabiki said. "I heard today he was in on the effort to drive Ranma berserk. He said something about Ranma's cursed form seeing the future."

"For thousands of years only the champions of our village tournaments have had the right to bathe in that spring," Cologne said. "Ranma has taken what should belong to us."

"Ranma must remain here and carry on the Anything-Goes school," Genma said with finality.

"The Prophetess belongs with us. Surely you can see that."

"If these curses are from your area," Nabiki asked, "you must know how to cure them, right?"

"There is none for this one. It is more powerful than the rest."

"More powerful? Hmmm." Genma eyed Ranma as if sizing up a new and unknown challenger. He suddenly leapt across the table at his son, who ducked easily.

"You definitely saw that coming," Nabiki said.

"So did you," Ranma said. "You should know him by now..."

Cologne pogoed up to the fallen Genma. "The power only works in the cursed form. You will not be able to defeat him then."

Genma wanted to give it a good try. He rose and spent fifteen minutes trying to dunk his son in the koi pond, eventually succeeding. After that, their sparring session went as it normally did, ending in a panda knocked out on the lawn.

"He's been doing that for a while," Kasumi observed.

Nabiki had a better idea. She got the sports section out of the newspaper and handed it to Ranma. "Tell me who's going to win next week."

Ranma-chan looked at the baseball listings. She easily saw what the next week would bring. "I can't tell," she lied.

"She will need proper training in the power to use it to full effect," Cologne said. "Right now she still uses the Sight on an instinctual level. I will begin training her in its use. If there is a way to satisfy all our desires, she will eventually be able to find it then."

"As long as we're talking about super powers," Nabiki asked, "would this also have to do with those sailor girls in Juuban?"

"I wouldn't think so. We have dealt with these powers for thousands of years. These sailor girls only showed up a few weeks ago."

Nabiki did the math. "The same time as Ranma got cursed..."

"Coincidence. It dosen't mean anything."

Nabiki let it drop, but Ranma knew by her expression she wasn't done. She would start looking for connections. And tomorrow's youma battle would provide her with some.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

There was chaos in Juuban the next morning. The streets were full of accidents. People were impatiently rushing everywhere. Shops were opening too early. It was spilling over into other areas of Tokyo; several people in Nerima were getting an unusually early start.

Ranma was one of them, but not because he was being affected by the youma; there were no new clocks in the Tendo household. Not that his father woke by clock; he seemed to be a heavy sleeper, but if danger was in the area he could be awake and in stance in an instant. Ranma had been trained similarly, and found it easy to wake early with the suspicious flows of chi in the neighborhood.

"Not again..." Genma grumbled as he found Ranma had woken ahead of him and skipped out on morning sparring. Not that he seemed able to contain the boy anymore if Ranma really wanted to go. This curse of his was getting to be a major pain.

Ranma-chan bounded along the streets of Juuban, for once dodging ordinary citizens on the car roofs; impatience caused by the youma's influence had them adopting his habits. He made his way to the new clock shop that was the source of the trouble. The other Senshi arrived about the same time. Luna was out of sight, knowing Ranma would be there.

"Good! Here's the youma hideout, eh?" Usagi said.

Under the youma's influence she was showing the sort of impatience and boldness Ranma-chan and her opponents were used to. In this instance it suited her just fine. "Power up! Let's blast through!"

"FIRE SOUL!" "SUPREME THUNDER!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" A hole wide enough for all of them opened in the shutter in front of the shop. They all charged through.

Ranma-chan noted the hole sealed behind them as they made their way to the stock room in the back of the store. No matter, once the youma was dead they would be able to get out normally.

In the stock room there was a severe-looking woman, presumably the youma, standing in front of a giant grandfather clock. "Who -?"

"For love and justice - hey!" Sailor Moon was cut short as Ranma-chan gave the youma a flying kick into the clock. It went flying through the glass front. The interior was suddenly a chaotic swirl of colors. The youma could not be seen within.

"Where'd it go?" Jupiter asked.

Mercury scanned the chaos. "It's some kind of alternate dimension," she said. "She's hiding in there."

A voice came from within. "If you want to die here today, come on, Sailor Senshi!"

"Famous last words!" Ranma-chan said, and led the group inside.

The interior had distorted clock faces floating amid clouds of raw colored energy. "Where'd she go?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Be careful, everyone," Mercury said. "The youma may have placed traps."

"I'm getting impatient. There's no time! Hiding like this - no fair!"

The youma's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I'm waiting in here. You should come."

"Should we do what it says?" Moon asked.

"Wait," Mercury said. "It's dangerous if we just walk blind. Ranma...?"

The Senshi turned to Ranma-chan, who was staring deep into the chaos. "I can see them..." she said absently. "I can see the time-flows..."

"Ranma?" Jupiter waved a hand in front of Ranma-chan's face.

"She's right..." Mars said. "There's something wrong with time in here. The youma must be changing it!"

"My mission..." Ranma-chan was saying. "My power... my duty... I can see it. Feel it..." She turned to Mercury. "Can you?"

Mercury activated her visor and linked with the computer Luna had given her less than an hour ago. The Silver Millennium technology had not deteriorated in subspace storage; relative to 1992 human technology it was more powerful than any mainframe supercomputer on Earth for the next few years, and could connect with still-functional Lunar mainframes vastly more powerful still. With these, she analyzed the time flows in the region.

"That way?" Mercury asked, pointing in the direction Ranma-chan was already moving. "Let's go!" Moon said, folling Ranma-chan's lead.

Moon kicked in a clock face, opening on an area with a circular pattern. They walked further until the pattern changed to vertical green tubes. The youma faded into view, gloating. "You've come this far pretty well, Sailor Moon. But it ends here. Prepare yourselves!"

"You're the one who'd better prepare!" Moon said. She started to charge, only to fall to her knees. "I can't stand up! What happened?"

The youma laughed. "Caught at last! My clock sucked out all your energy!"

"Energy?" The other Senshi realized they were all feeling weaker.

"I got plenty," Ranma-chan said, stalking forward. "Everybody fire!"

"You're in the way!" The youma fired a beam of energy that swept across all of them. The other Senshi froze in their tracks. "Now I've stopped your time!"

Ranma-chan felt the energy flow into her, slowing her down. She tried to fight it, first with brute strength, then by raising chi. As this failed, she began to feel something else, something similar, but slightly different.

Willing to try anything, Ranma-chan reached out to this new power, trying to get a sense of it, expand her senses to use it. She felt a nexus of power and focused on it, pouring herself into it.

Light blazed forth about a foot in front of her, quickly taking shape and solidity. It was a pen, like the other Senshi transformation pens, with the Pluto symbol on it. *I'm never gonna live this down...* Ranma-chan thought as she gripped the pen and called out, "PLUTO PLANET POWER! MAKE UP!"

She felt her clothing dissolve, leaving her naked, though her skin was so charged with energy she was only a silhouette. She swung the pen around in a circle, a flow of wind erupting from her feet, engulfing her and forming clothing. She could feel jewellery materialize, makeup being applied. The winds dispersed, leaving her standing before the youma clad in Senshi fuku.

"You're out of your league. Face the power of Sailor Pluto!" Ranma-chan charged into the stunned youma, giving it an Amaguriken in the chest. It went flying backward, lying stunned on the ground.

Suddenly the other Senshi were free. "Ranma!" For a moment she had seemed to speed up incredibly, almost like a videotape skipping ahead, then flashed with light. She was now jumping clear of the youma, clad as a Senshi.

"Now! Hit it!" Ranma-chan said. They did.

"Like we trained," Mercury said. "SHABON SPRAY!"

"FIRE SOUL!" "SUPREME THUNDER!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" The youma crumbled to dust. The energy field scenery faded, along with the entire shop. The Senshi were left standing on a vacant lot. They quickly detransformed.

"That was exhausting," Usagi said, sinking to her knees.

"That one forced us to use a lot of energy," Ami said.

"Ranma... you transformed?" Makoto asked.

Ranma-chan was blushing. "How can you guys wear that stuff?" she said.

"I think it looks good on you!" Moon said.

"You can keep that stuff. But the power... I could SEE the time-flows. I think I can work with them... change them... like the youma did..."

"You can?" Rei said. "I don't think I can do anything like that..." Her own prophetic visions had been getting stronger, but from her discussions with Ranma-chan in training, it seemed the powers of Pluto were much stronger and more precise.

"I think it's Pluto's powers. Her duty, maybe. Stopping time changes."

The others had more questions, but Usagi's friend Naru ran up, cutting them short. "Usagi! Emergency! They're having a free early bird special at the cake shop!"

"No way! Hurry!"

The other Senshi left to continue their day. Ranma-chan got up and started back toward Nerima. Her thoughts raced with possibilities. To manipulate time... gain speed in combat, slow enemies down, even stop them in their tracks, or jumping backward to recover if you made a mistake...

There was much to try for the next few weeks. She was thankful Nerima would be as quiet as it ever got.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nabiki put away her binoculars and waited a suitable amount of time to keep distance from Ranma-chan before heading back to Nerima herself. She would not get out of punishment for being late (Juuban schools might forgive it due to the general chaos affecting everyone, but Nerima hadn't suffered the full effect) but for what she had just learned it was worth the price.

Sailor Moon had a full sentai team backing her up now. Ranma WAS one of them. She had been right; it was no accident these monster attacks had started and Sailor Moon had appeared around the same time as Ranma had gotten cursed. What else that might mean... she would have to keep an ear to the ground.

She was stopped dead by Cologne dropping down from a rooftop to land in front of her. "I knew you were too smart to be put off."

"What are you going to do?"

"That depends on you. I assume you were thinking of selling this information to his admirers or rivals?"

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Then I would have to silence you."

"Really? It's that important?"

"The Senshi are fighting a war against a Dark Kingdom that means to destroy the world as we know it. Secrecy is paramount at this stage. Ranma has seen that if any of the Senshi, including himself, are exposed, they all will be shortly, and they will not be able to defend themselves against assassins in the night. We cannot afford to lose anyone." She looked Nabiki in the eye. "They are all that stand between the enemy and your chances of living to see next year."

Nabiki paled. "Your point is taken."

"See that it is. It's also worth noting if there is a cure to the curses of Jusenkyo, either the Senshi or the Dark Kingdom should have it."

"Including a cure that works on Ranma? Freeing up the Spring of Drowned Prophetess for Shampoo?"

"I can only hope." Cologne sighed. "Or it may destroy her Spring, or all of the springs. Or Ranma may be killed and free up the Lady's Spring that way. Fortunes of war. We must be ready for whatever happens."

Nabiki hurried along to school. This was getting heavy. There was too much at stake. Her safety, her family, her fortune, were all at risk if anything happened to the Senshi. One gambling principle definitely applied here: Never bet your life.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That evening Akane humgrily scarfed down the dinner Kasumi had made. Ranma hadn't been so sure she would make it. Not that it mattered to him.

"Congratulations, Akane," Kasumi said. "You went the full week!"

"And my cooking has gotten better! I'll make some for everyone tomorrow!"

"I just remembered I have to study late at school tomorrow," Nabiki said. "We have a training trip," Genma said.

"I may have to meet an old friend..." Soun began.

"You could at least try some!" Akane exploded.

"Eh," Ranma said. "If it doesn't kill us..."

"That's NOT encouraging."

"Oh, by the way," Nabiki said, "I did some more research on La Belle France School of Martial Arts. Seems they're not so big on cooking. Their art is more about how you *eat* the food. Style and grace and all that."

Akane's eyes lit up red with anger. "RAAAANNNNNMAAAA! YOU were the one who said I would have to be a good cook!"

"Hey, I hardly heard of these people before either," Ranma said. "Who would have thought, you know?"

"Well, you're the one who eats like a pig around here! YOU can just take the engagement!" She hefted a pail and gave Ranma a splash.

Ranma-chan looked at Nabiki. "You know, if it takes someone who eats like a pig, we should find some way to get Ryoga to do it."

"No help from me, Saotome. You go find him."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

La Belle France would wait; it was weeks away. Another mess was due to be cleaned up the next day.

Ranma stood outside of Ucchan's, collecting his thoughts. He knew what he had to do. There would be no feeling in it for him - there was no precedence in his life for dealing with romance. Where other men had to navigate by their feelings, he had none. Fortunately, he didn't need them. He had the Sight.

He took a deep breath and walked in.

"RANCHAN!" Ukyo came bounding over the grill and glomped him. She might not have heard of the kiss, to look at her now.

"Ucchan," Ranma replied as soon as he had breath. "How's it going?"

"Just great. You? I heard you weren't serious when you kissed Nabiki."

"Not when I'm like that, I'm not. I just forget myself..."

"Well, no harm done. As long as you do one thing for me."

"One thing?"

Evil grin. "Kiss ME." She puckered up, closed her eyes, and leaned in.

Ranma kissed her. It felt totally wrong, unlike him. He knew she wouldn't buy it.

She didn't. She broke away, arms straight down at her sides, fists balled up. "Come on, Ranchan! You can do better than that!"

"You DO realize that was my first real kiss?"

"Didn't feel all that real."

"It was real enough for SOMEONE..." He threw a glance out the door. Ukyo followed his gaze.

Nabiki was there, a sour expression on her face. "Dumping me so soon, Ranma?"

"As if we were together. You know I wasn't myself. I know you don't seriously have feelings for me. You just want the money I can make for you."

She teared up, clasping hands in front of her chest. "But after all those things you said to me..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Preached my undying love, took you out to a restaurant, a movie, a theme park, father of your unborn child. Gimme a break. I got proof. Your sisters and your classmates can vouch for every time where you and I could possibly have been together, and what we said."

She adopted an angry look. "You're being no fun. Just you wait, Saotome. I'll have you yet." She stalked off.

"Well, now that that's settled..." Ukyo started.

"For now," Ranma interrupted. "She'll be back. If you want her gone for good, we gotta work together."

"We? Who's 'we'? She's YOUR problem."

Now it was Ranma's turn to look hurt. "Being a fiancee means facing rivals together. We both have to do our parts. We work together to make sure no one in this neighborhood can think she's a serious contender."

Understanding dawned in Ukyo's eyes. "Ranchan..." Those words would sound so romantic to her. "I'm with you. For anything..."

"It's going to be tough on both of us. But we can do it if we have faith in each other. Here's what we gotta do..."

Some of his father's advice was still useful: When you're studying a strange Art and you have no idea what you're doing, find an expert. He would have to thank Minako Aino when she actually told him these lines several months from now.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next few weeks were blissfully calm. Ranma threw himself into training, with the Senshi and at home with the Tendos. He was frustrated to find he had no intuitive energy attack like the other Senshi had. His strength and speed, however, were phenomenal, truly up to super-hero standards.

The transformation proved not to change hair styles, which Ranma was uneasy with. "Our hair is a dead giveaway. Especially Usagi. No one in the world has hair like yours."

"Hey! Isn't it bad enough the transformation changes my RACE? At least Ami and Rei are still Asian! Mako-chan and I turn into Westerners!"

"You turn into a Scandinavian supermodel," Makoto pointed out. "I'd hardly call that grounds for complaint."

"Well, Venus is in the same boat," Ami said. "Although, I thought that was because she was operating in England..."

He grew more concerned over Happosai. The old freak's actions were hard to pin down, not as bad at times when cats were involved, but he couldn't see as clearly as he could normally. He had to ask Cologne for more information about him.

"You said he visited you when he was young. Did he know about the Prophetess?"

"We didn't actually see all that much of him," Cologne said, "so I'm not sure how much he knew or when he knew it. But our Prophetess developed the same problem with him as he got older. We suspected it was an effect of his chi getting stronger as he grew more powerful."

"Mmmm. There's some things he can do that will really slow us down. We gotta be ready for anything."

Ranma was grateful for not having to do the tea ceremony battle. His new movements didn't place him on the street in the rain when Sentaro was riding through, unconscious, on horseback. He wasn't interested in finding out what became of him.

He did not assist the Senshi with their next few battles. Already having Jupiter with them gave them more than enough firepower to deal with the youma. He was planning to attend the final battle with Jadeite. After that, he guessed, Queen Beryl would make an example of the failed general. Happosai would show up the next day, and consume all of his time for the next few weeks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Meditations were now being practiced with his father in attendance. Other members of the household were getting interested in some of his results. Kasumi, for instance, wanted to know what he could see of her mother and her parents' early marriage.

Ranma-chan went into a low-level trance, just enough to see things clearly but able to hear requests and speak of what he saw. "Soun Tendo... son of a good martial arts family... house burns down when he is eight years old... only he survives. Old master takes him in..."

Soun and Genma interrupted their shoji game. If he mentioned Happosai's name...

"They pick up another student, same age... Genma Saotome... they train many years. Harsh training, working off the master's debts, helping steal, suffering punishments... Genma from a proud family, impatient with normal pace of training ... wants only to be the best, heard this old master was unbeatable. Runs from family, does not speak to them, but not formally disowned.

"Their master allows them to court when they are 18. Soun finds a woman at a midsummer festival. Love at first sight. He meets her father, does things for her family, becomes friendly. Gains permission to court. They date, they marry..."

"What about your family, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Genma asks many families about courting daughters. They always say he has to defeat all the men in the family to prove himself. He finds a family with an only daughter, no brothers, no uncles. Only her father to fight. He wins, marries her."

"Then the old master died, didn't he?" Akane asked.

"YES!" Genma shouted, breaking Ranma-chan out of her trance. "Dead! Don't have to worry about him anymore!"

"Ah, the times we had, eh, Saotome?" Soun pitched in.

No one looked fooled. "Later, Ranma," Nabiki whispered.

"I always knew you were both bakas," Akane grumbled, looking at Ranma and Genma. "At least my father TRIED to be normal."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Pluto's face tightened in concentration. She brought her arms up, crossing them over her chest, then down, then moving in several katas. She was looking for a focus, a way to use her magic for attacks like the other Senshi. So far she was only getting frustrated.

They were in a forested area in the mountains, practicing attacks. Some boulders had been split or shattered by lightning, fire, or rapid fire-cold shifts. All the Senshi present were getting used to Moon not being here.

She ended up with her hands curled on her right side, as if holding something. "It feels like I need a weapon," she said. "Something to channel through."

"We can ask Luna if she has anything," Mars said.

Pluto didn't want to wait. She looked among the trees, found a long straight branch, and broke it off, paring smaller branches and leaves and fashioning a crude sort of staff. She tried focusing magic through it, only to have it explode in her hands.

"Phew." She wiped dust from her face. "Need something else. Try a bunch of materials. There has to be something that can take the charge." She looked at Cologne. "What about your Prophetesses? Could any of your Lady's hosts do anything other than see the future?"

Cologne shook her head. "Honestly, they never tried. We never imagined there might be more to the Lady than her prophetic power."

"I want to shift time like that youma did. Speed it up for us, slow it down for youma, jump us backward if we make a mistake..."

"Sounds cool," Jupiter said. She wished she could see more of Ranma-kun. He looked like one of her old boyfriends.

"Changing speeds may be possible," Ami said, "but changing things after they happen may be too dangerous. Can you even DO that?"

"I want to try. Right now I can't even get a grip, or whatever you do to time to work with it."

"Your memories may help," Cologne said. "Shampoo is due back tomorrow."

"You sure Mousse is locked up?" Ranma-chan asked. "I'm seeing some blanks for tomorrow. Some fighting on the street."

"Possibly that Kuno boy. Mousse is in a steel cage when he isn't working."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tatewaki Kuno swung hard, projecting his chi along the steel blade. It cut through the unenhanced iron lock on the cage like it was butter. The tiger within burst out through the door and headed for a sink to turn on the hot water tap.

"It seems I am in your debt," Mousse said once he was human. He began donning his clothes.

"Think nothing of it. It will be paid on the morrow, when Saotome is finally laid to rest."

"I take it you have a better plan this time?"

"We have a few new... resources to work with. He should either be lured to a place of our choosing, or pinned where you can get to him. You can reduce him to a dumb beast, and we know how to deal with such."

Kuno did not specify what the new resources were, and Mousse did not bother to ask. If he had known, he would have told Kuno they would not work. Not that it would bother him; the plan, he fancied, was robust enough that they were not strictly necessary.

Both relaxed in confidence that their common enemy had met his match.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Scenes from another fine day in Nerima:

Shampoo was entering the shopping district with a larger than usual backpack. It contained two casks of Jusenkyo water and a full shelf of her trademark shampoos. She saw no reason to be delayed in reaching her great-grandmother and Mousse on time. She had not yet learned that in Nerima, reason had little to do with anything.

Ukyo was at her shop, filling customer orders, her martial artist's senses ever wary of sudden ambush. She expected Kuno, Mousse, Ryoga, or one of Ranma's more obscure rivals or hunters to come by and make trouble. She would not be disappointed.

Not far away, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane were delighting in a shopping expedition. It was refreshing to get out of the house and away from dealing with Jusenkyo curses and other strangeness.

Ranma was waiting on a rooftop, trying to clam down his sense of panic. Cologne had informed him of Mousse's escape last night. No doubt that was why he could not get a clear picture of what was about to happen. Looking beyond, he could see he was in a no-win situation: something disastrous was about to happen, and he could not stop it. He would be blamed for it, at least partially. Worst of all, it was true: it would happen simply because he was here. Whatever he did, people would imagine they would have avoided their fate if he had chosen otherwise.

Tatewaki Kuno and his group of erstwhile retainers were setting up the trap, hoping to catch Ranma. They had several kinds of Jusenkyo water, with generous supplies of boy and girl water in case of accidents. Not generous enough, of course, and poorly positioned, but it represented more foresight than they had shown thus far.

Mousse was in position on a roof overlooking the shopping street. He knew his mere presence in tiger form masked events from Ranma's scrutiny. Truly, his curse was in fact a blessing. The Gods must have been responsible. It was no accident that Shampoo's prize had been stolen by one who had such a weakness, or that he happened to stumble into the one pool that could take advantage of it.

And a very lost boy had found someone he did not want to meet, rushing in to provide a spark to a powder keg that the shopping street had become.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I've always figured it was an author's perogative to choose early who will end up with whom. That said, I do have a bias toawrd Ukyo. In the context of this story I read early-series Ranma looking at his future options and becoming resigned to marrying SOMEONE and choosing his best option, naturally taking the path of least resistance toward Ukyo. Shampoo does not force herself on him, Kodachi he can avoid, Akane he sees as inevitably abusive while he would be willing to choose Kasumi she will not be hurt if he doesn't, which isn't true of Ukyo. In normal Ranma canon, I would break down his fiancees this way:

Kasumi: The Tendo he would choose, if he could get over the age difference. She would require a lot of protecting against rivals, and her younger sisters would eventually decide she was too good for Ranma and try to spare her the dangers of living with him.

Nabiki: Demonstrates quite adequately in Volume 15 why she is not a contender in the arc where she takes the engagement. Would not take the engagement seriously without a compelling reason.

Akane: Many fanfic writers have gone on ad nauseum about her problems. Basically she needs to grow up, meaning she has to realize she can't do so at the leisurely pace she prefers; she has to move faster.

Ukyo: The non-Tendo he has the best chemistry with and the one overall he would seem happiest with as an equal partner. He offers to validate her womanhood, she offers to change him the least and won't demand he live any particular place.

Shampoo and Kodachi are interlopers with no claim on his honor. Shampoo in particular has a weak hand; trying to win him by force, and failing to understand his feelings toward others, Akane in particular.

Concerning the Senshi transformations: The common assumption in fanfic is that the Senshi are protected by glamour magic that prevents recognition of an unchanged face. My view is that there has to be SOME change, and I have always seen the Senshi appearances in canon as being their 'true selves', what the world sees of their Senshi appearances, while their Japanese identities would still fundamentally be dark-haired Asians, even if of supermodel quality.

My take on a few other common Ranma ideas:

Ranma/Dragonball crossover, Spring of Drowned Saiyajin. Most treaments I've seen give him Goku's personality, but what if he's... Vejita? Messy. Challengers get literally torn to pieces.

Ranma has siblings, or is a girl from birth: Like Happosai, Genma would never train a girl. If his firstborn is a girl, he will keep having kids with Nodoka until he gets a boy, and have all that much more reason to flee on a training trip to prevent contaminating his son with feminine influence. So they arrive at the Tendo home a year later, with Akane having defeated Kuno and the hentai horde once and for all, and a friend/classmate of Ranko, who has a deep grudge against her father - she sees the training trip for what it is, and abandonment - and her mother as crazy for being willing to go along with it.

Ranma Redux series: One Ranma character is sent back, Quantum Leap-style, from fifty years in the future. With a lifetime of experience and wisdom, they are essentially a wholly different person from canon, and react very differently to circumstances.

- Ranma: No longer defensive of his independence, selfish, antagonistic, is now willing to go along with an engagement to anyone. Could choose Akane, whose standards of behavior and perception he can now meet, and whom he eventually learned to respect; Kasumi, the type a traditional Japanese man like himself would normally choose, and whom he can impress with his maturity; and Ukyo, obviously. Kodachi he will avoid, and Shampoo he would bargain with, offering a secret marriage/mistress relationship.

- Akane: Still cynical about men, but willing to tolerate them. Could try to make engagement to Ranma work, but I also see a possibility that she might have decided by that time that Kuno or Ryoga was actually better for her. Sisters will know something is up, and may try to take the engagement for themselves...

- Nabiki: Generally, Ranma/Nabiki pairings require the writer to come up with a reason for her to take the engagement seriously. My preference: She knows of devestating warfare in the future, which Ranma would be instruental in winning or preventing, but only if he can be prevented from marrying Akane. Starts practicing martial arts again.

- Kasumi: takes the engagement immediately, over her sisters' protests if necessary, knowing Ranma and Akane end up in a mutually abusive relationship.

- Ukyo: Arrives earlier and crafts a better strategy for winning Ranma's love.

- Shampoo: finds herself already in Japan, looking for the Tendo residence. Goes straight there, steals Ranma away in the middle of the night, brainwashes him, and takes her back to China. At Jusenkyo she bargains: if he marries her, she will cure his curse, allow him to have "mistresses" elsewhere, and demand he spend only a few months a year in the village. She will also help him with his enemies. And they have to kill Happosai...

Next: Battles


	10. Battles

Chapter 10: Battles

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hikaru Gosunkugi entered Ucchan's with a note. Ukyo recognized him as one of Kuno's hangers-on, one of the boys involved in the battle where Ranma had been driven berzerk. She was wary, but he seemed to be no threat.

"Ummm... Kuonji-san... Nabiki said she wants to meet with you. She had something to discuss... about Ranma..." He passed Ukyo the note.

"Did she?" She relaxed; it wasn't Kuno's business this time. She finished up her orders and temporarily closed shop, hefting her spatula and heading to the designated alley.

She was met there by Kuno. "Kuonji-san. Good morning."

"Kuno-sempai. Are you going to let me pass? I need to meet with Nabiki."

"It seems you are misled. You are, in fact, meeting with me."

"And what business would I have with you?"

"You will bring Ranma Saotome to me, that I may face him in final battle."

"And why should I do that? He's not that hard to find. You can get him to kick your butt any time you want."

"The Lady whom he has bound to himself allows him to avoid battle when the opponent has the advantage. Such as I do now. Though it pains me to use such tactics, I must challenge you to get to him."

"Big problem with your plan, sugar." She drew her spatula. "I can fight my own battles."

And the fight was on.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Do you think Ranma will go for this, Kasumi?" Nabiki held a brassiere. It was entirely in jest; Ranma refused to wear feminine clothing, especially underwear.

"I think he might like this one more," Kasumi said, pointing out another one. As always, it was difficult with her to tell if she was playing along with the joke, or honestly didn't get it.

"Let that baka hentai wear whatever he wants," Akane said. Her feelings, at least, were always clear.

"You know, Akane," Nabiki said reprovingly, "you really should learn to understand the different kinds of hentais. For most people, hentai means strange or uncontrollable sex drives. As far as I can see, Ranma has *no* sex drive at all. He may actually be the LEAST hentai boy his age in town."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's true," Kasumi said. "Any other boy his age who could turn into a woman like that would never leave his room..."

"I can see why. He's embarrassed enough as it is."

"I meant what they would be doing all day..." Her sisters were staring strangely at her. "What?"

"Nothing," they said.

As they left the shop they were distracted by a commotion in the alley. They went to see what it was. It sounded like Kuno and... Ukyo? Why would THEY be fighting?

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma's first warning was the distraction. It was, of course, totally unexpected. If it hadn't been, it wouldn't have been an effective distraction.

"NNYYYYYAAAA! GET HER AWAY FROM ME!" Ryoga came bounding along the rooftops, going right up to Ranma - and past him.

"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA! RYOGA SAMA! DON'T RUN AWAY! PLEASE! STAY WITH ME!" Seconds later, Kodachi came bounding after him.

Ranma did a double take. "When did THAT happen? I wasn't even THERE..."

A sound of metal on metal from a nearby alley: a clash of weapons. He jumped over to look. Kuno and... Ucchan? Could she hold her own against him? He couldn't see clearly. Something told him it was a trap. He held his position.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kuno was learning respect for Ukyo's skills. He was still holding his own, but she remained dangerous, pressing him as few could. Only Ranma, in his estimate, was better.

"The coward does not show himself..." Kuno mused. "SAOTOME! WILL YOU NOT PROTECT YOUR FIANCEE?"

"He isn't showing up! You're not worth his time!" Ukyo threw another line of spatulas.

"Very well. No less than expected. Then I am forced to use my secret weapon. ARISE, SOLDIERS! TO BATTLE!"

Boys carrying casks with various labels began emerging from shops. One threw his cask at Ukyo, apparently as a distraction. She idly swing her spatula, cutting it through the middle, the halves falling to either side of her.

But it was not empty. She found herself splashed by cold water. And feeling very strange indeed.

Kuno suddenly seemed much bigger. In fact, the whole world did. Her clothes had piled around her. And she seemed to have hair on her face.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"UCCHAN!" Ranma saw Ukyo get hit with the water and knew the game was up. He jumped down, trying to hit Kuno from behind, but the kendoist was expecting the attack. He swung around and parried, but allowing Ranma to pass and assume a position protecting Ukyo. He relaxed his stance, giving Ranma time to size up the situation.

Ranma saw that Kuno was not looking to be an immediate threat, and looked down into Ukyo's clothes. They were occupied by a fox. "Ucchan... what have they done to you?" He refocused on Kuno. "WHY? Why do this? What did she ever do to you?"

"She became your friend. Honor demanded you rescue her. But now it is you who need rescue..." Mousse-tiger padded up beside him. Ranma began shaking.

The Tendos were still looking on in horror. Akane bashed Kuno's head from behind. "BAKA! This is going too far, Kuno!"

"Fear not for the girl's sake, for she shall recover. But now that we have Saotome..." He motioned to the boys now piling up at either end of the alley and lining the rooftops. "NOW! WE FINISH HIM!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" Akane charged in, hoping to save the paralyzed Ranma.

And now the disaster fully materialized, as Shampoo came walking by the alley entrance behind the Tendos, as Ryoga bounded down into the alley right next to Ranma and back up, as Kodachi landed in the same spot and prepared to leap up to follow, as Akane reached Ukyo and Ranma and Kodachi, as the boys around them threw their casks.

It was Akane's poor tactical sense that made the disaster complete. Instead of grabbing Ranma and pushing or dragging him away, she fixated on one of Ukyo's dropped firework-laced flour bombs. It detonated just as the casks came in. The alley was clouded with flour. Casks flew everywhere. Much splashing was heard.

And then Nerima *really* became a zoo.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

An hour later, Mousse was confronting Kuno. "What were you THINKING! You weren't, were you? I could have told you it wouldn't work. The Lady's curse is stronger than the rest. It can't be broken with another curse. Now - SHAMPOO! My Shampoo! Damn you, Kuno!" Tears came from his eyes; he made as if to tear his hair out. "We're through! I'll kill Saotome myself. You can buy your own trip to the Springs. Or go to Hell for all I care."

As he stormed out, the parrot said, "Well, brother, I hope you're happy."

The mouse could only squeak.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Soun Tendo's Demon Head chi projection seemed like it was going to become a permanent feature. The panda sitting next to him looked equally incensed. Ranma-chan did her best to shrink down to atomic size.

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!"

"Gomen. I tried to help, Ucchan -"

"WHO CARES ABOUT HER! MY DAUGHTERS ARE ANIMALS!"

"Gomen," she said again. "I can fix this -"

"YOU'D BETTER! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Kasumi neighed, Nabiki barked, and Akane quacked in agreement.

"Ummm... There were a lot of waters there... maybe there's some Drowned Girl water still at the market..."

"THEN GO GET THEM!" Soun promptly drop-kicked him over the rooftops in the direction of the market street.

The girls wanted to know where Genma got his signs.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The squirrel jumped in the pail of hot water. Shampoo emerged and moved to dress herself. "The next time I see him I'm giving him the Kiss of Death."

"That's for outsiders," Cologne reminded her. "You can just kill him. He's caused enough trouble."

"So sorry, Great-Grandmother. I spent all this time away to get those waters and now I have to do it again."

"No," Cologne said sharply. "The way things are here, it would be another waste of effort."

"Great-Grandmother! You mean I -?"

"Consider it your punishment for not being vigilant. Passing by a battle like that without scouting it first! I taught you better than that." She sighed. "But no Girl water for you also means none for that mooncat. We will need to find another way."

Shampoo reached into her backpack and pulled out a catalogue. "There is always this."

Cologne paged through the catalogue. "Hmmm... yes... I think this might help..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So how much will three trips to Jusenkyo cost?" Akane asked as she soaked in the furo with her sisters.

"Four," Kasumi said. "Father will want to come and protect us on our way."

"What about Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

"Let him stay here," Akane said. "He'll just get us all turned into monsters."

"But they did go to China cheaply..." Kasumi was trying to be hopeful.

"It took them a month," Nabiki reminded her, "and they didn't exactly pay their way. They also knew how to live off the land." She did some quick figures in her head. "It will take a few weeks to earn enough. At least three weeks, probably more. Depending on how helpful Ranma is."

"Waitressing dosen't pay that much, does it?" Akane asked.

"There will be more than waitressing involved..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan had made a survey of the battle area. There were a number of casks of Spring of Drowned Boy and Girl in one of the shops, but they had all been used; those on the street, including Shampoo's, had been destroyed.

She had expected as much. Now it was night, and the main show was about to begin.

Right on cue, a giant image of a blond man in red-trimmed charcoal military-style outfit appeared over the city. "I am Jadeite. Listen to me, Sailor Senshi. The time has come to settle things. Come to the F runway at Haneda airport tomorrow night at 1 AM. Otherwise..." He spat a ball of fire at the city, engulfing all of Tokyo in flames.

The few people on the streets at this hour were startled and began to panic. Jadeite dismissed the flames with a snap of his fingers. There seemed to be no damage done. "That was only an illusion. But if you don't come, Tokyo will be a sea of fire."

The image faded. Ranma checked the next day and saw no problems getting out of the house at midnight. Another night short on sleep. Super heroing was a fun business to him, but the hours sucked.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Another tense breakfast. Ranma-chan had stayed out all night, not wanting to suffer further wrath from Soun, but she could not delay the bad news forever. "...so, I guess you all will want me to go to China and get you some Spring of Drowned Girl water," she said.

Soun shook his head. "We can't wait months for you to get there and back. And you haven't proven yourself reliable. I will take them myself. We will go immediately!"

"We don't have the money for an airplane trip or a cruise ship," Nabiki said, "which leaves slow boats. I'm guessing we can't avoid getting changed on the way. Kasumi will attract the most attention..."

"Virgins are supposed to attract unicorns," Kasumi said, "not turn INTO them."

"They'll want your horn, and possibly other body parts you can't do without. We might be able to set up a path for concealed smuggling..."

Ranma shook his head. "That would take just as long as us men going there and bringing water back."

"Well, then. Ranma, get yourself ready for an outing tonight. We're going to start putting your curse to work..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

School was full of whispers that day. Tatewaki Kuno had shown up briefly, then disappeared for most of the day. Nabiki noticed the class being distracted by squeaking sounds throughout the day. No doubt the school was becoming infested with mice. They would probably call the exterminators on the weekend.

At lunch she kept her ears peeled for unfair comments. The first girl to say "I always knew she was a -" couldn't finish the comment through the rice cake stuffed in her mouth.

Boys around the school were talking about their experiences with the curses. Some had considered keeping them for certain sports advantages. There was a rumor of one boy who was said to be absent this day because he wanted to keep enjoying being a sexy girl for a while. Some thought his (her?) dessicated corpse would be found in his/her room in a few months.

Akane's friends were asking her why she was still there. "You can fly, can't you? What's keeping you from going to China on your own?"

"And get there naked? Are you crazy?"

"How much can you carry as a duck? I would at least think a bra and panties..."

"And that's about all. It's just as bad!"

"Hey, if you're not willing to do what it takes..."

Stare of disbelief. "Well, if you ever get cursed to turn into a duck YOU can walk back from China in your underwear."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That evening Nabiki had Ranma-chan dress up in some clothes she had bought for her over the past few weeks, looking forward to this night. Ranma had categorically refused to wear anything too 'girly'.

"Oh, come one, Ranma! Haven't you ever played dress-up?" She held up a slinky black dress.

"As a matter of fact, no. I'm not about to start." She chose a plain looking set of tight skirt, tank top, and club jacket.

The high heels were also a problem. "Never did any training that bound my feet like this."

"Now you know what we girls have to put up with just to impress you guys."

They arrived in an area not too far from the airport, in a warehouse with painted-over windows. Nabiki produced a card to get them past the gatekeepers. "I'm not even gonna ask where you got that," Ranma said.

Inside was a club with low lights, low music, and several types of gambling going on. Nabiki steered them straight toward a poker table.

"How much do you want to take them for?" Ranma asked in a low voice.

"We're going to break the bank," Nabiki replied.

Ranma made a note to ask how many such places there were in the Tokyo area, and how many Nabiki expected to break before getting blacklisted. He was sure most of them already knew his father only too well.

Nabiki sat Ranma down at a table and stood at her side. "This is about a month's worth of earnings for me," she said, handing over their investment. "Make this worthwhile."

Five hands later they were nearly broke. Nabiki hastily pulled Ranma away from the table. "I don't believe it! You can see how the hands will go, but you can't win them because you have the world's worst poker face!"

"Hey, I never actually played before. Pop always did it when we gambled for money."

"Great. Well, there are other games that don't depend on your face. Let's do roulette."

They recouped their losses at roulette and started to get ahead. The first time Ranma lost, Nabiki drew her back out. "Why did you do that?"

"You need to learn to control your greed," Ranma said. "If we never lose we get kicked out faster. We can take them for more if we make it look good."

Nabiki's face registered a look of surprise, as if she hadn't actually realized that she couldn't just take the house for all it had in one shot. Something like respect for Ranma began to form.

They spent some time at the blackjack tables, where Ranma again lost just enough to allay suspicion. Then back to the roulette table to finish the night. This time it was Ranma who seemed to throw caution to the wind and start a winning streak.

"What about making it look good?" Nabiki asked.

"I got an appointment," Ranma-chan said. Ranma's wasn't the only one whose poker face was lacking: the look Nabiki gave her indicated she knew where and with whom.

A few runs later they cashed out. "Well, guys, got some dancing to do," Ranma said. "It's been fun." She headed toward the door, gripping Nabiki's hand tightly. "Get ready to run," she whispered.

At the door, they were taken aside by a slight man in an expensive suit. "You've had a pretty good night," the man said. "The manager would like to extend his gratitude. If you'd like to step this way..."

Nabiki tensed as they headed up the stairs to the manager's booth. They were surrounded by large men with unfortunate faces. "Anytime, Ranma..."

"I guess you're here for the demonstration," Ranma-chan said.

"We've had quite a demonstration already, miss," the slight man said. "We were thinking of a demonstration of our own."

"Mine first. Saotome Secret Technique! FAST BREAK!"

Ranma-chan grabbed Nabiki by the waist and leapt at the curtained windows. They went crashing through, Nabiki just behind Ranma, protected by her body. Ranma landed deftly on the concrete and began running, carrying Nabiki fireman style, heading for home.

After a few blocks, she set Nabiki down. "We've lost them. You should be able to get a taxi from here."

"I take it you're going to try and help the sailor girls. Martial artist's business, ne?"

"I'm better trained than they are. I have better chances."

"You're really powerful enough to take that guy?"

"Piece of cake." She gave Nabiki a sparkling grin, snapped her fingers, and headed off over the rooftops.

Nabiki watched him go. "Dammit. I should have thought to bring my camera. The papers will want pictures..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan jumped the fence around the airport and ran across the runways to hide in an equipment shed. She quickly transformed and looked around for something to use as a weapon; not strictly necessary, but anything would help. She tried channeling her magic through a broom handle, which exploded, and steel and aluminum bars. The aluminum melted before building up a significant charge. The steel grew very hot but seemed to hold enough to fire a power blast on a par with Mars or Jupiter. "...dead... scream..." The words simply came to her. They created a power blast that blew out a wall. "It'll have to do for now," Pluto said, taking four bars and heading toward the terminal.

As she approached she saw the others in civilian guise running from what looked like police. They slowed when they saw Pluto running up. She went past them, holding her bars level with the ground, and slammed into the police, knocking them down.

Ami was suspicious. She gave them a close look. "Strange... very strange. She pulled out her pen. "MERCURY POWER - MAKE UP!"

"No - dont -" Pluto tried to stop her, but it was too late. All the Senshi started transforming.

Mercury activated her visor and scanned the stunned figures on the ground. "This - these police... they aren't human! They're clay figures!"

"Knowing that, I won't hold back!" Mars said. "FIRE SOUL!" The 'police' burned and broke up into dried clay.

"Did it. They weren't human after all," Mercury said.

"Not to mention you just gave away yourselves to Jadeite..." Pluto sweatdropped.

It was true. Jadeite was standing atop the terminal, with a commanding view of the airport. He laughed in a magically magnified voice and said, "Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter! I saw your true forms. Pretty flowers last only a short time... and your lives are limited to tonight!"

"I think we have a bit longer than that," Pluto shouted. "Come on down and face us like a man!"

"Do you think me a fool? Poor lambs, meet your fate!" He held up his hands, palms forward, fingers spread, and began to concentrate.

Pluto took some burning clay and threw it at the general. It knocked him back a step, forcing him to duck out of sight. Seconds later, however, he seemed to have recovered, to judge by some airplanes starting to move toward them.

The Inner Senshi began to run. Pluto sweatdropped again. "You've got to be kidding..." She ran at the lead plane and jumped on the forward landing gear, delivering a series of blows at the strut until it broke off.

The plane continued to pursue the Inner Senshi, its nose skidding along the tarmac. Pluto broke off the wing gear as well, leaving it flat on the ground. Its engines pulled it at a crawl along the ground for a few seconds before Jadeite gave up on it and focused on others. Pluto ran to the other Senshi. Planes were now converging from two directions. "Okay, I'll use Fire Soul -" Mars suggested.

"Don't waste your energy," Pluto said. "Jadeite is the one controlling them. We need to get to somemwhere safe. On top of the one I downed! Quick!"

They ran toward the stranded jet. As they were reaching it, the approaching jets suddenly stopped. Pluto looked up to see Jadeite's control interrrupted by a thrown rose.

"Do you enjoy tormenting little girls?" Tuxedo Mask said. He had appeared behind Jadiete.

*Blast*, Pluto thought. *If I'd gotten here just a little earlier I could have taken that spot...*

Jadeite was annoyed. "You again,Masked Tuxedo. I'll send you to Hell with them!"

"Damned villain, using magic against innocent people. I will not allow it!"

"Tuxedo Mask!" the Inners swooned.

Jadeite started throwing magic lightning. Tuxedo Mask dodged. Both flew into the air over the runways.

"Dammit..." Pluto cursed. "Can't get a clear shot!"

They watched helplessly as the two figures sailed overhead and landed in the bay. The watched in worry as a single rose floated up. Then Jadeite emerged, dry under a force field.

"Tuxedo Mask - " Mars cried.

"Oh no... he didn't - " Moon said.

"Your trusty Tuxedo Mask is dead!" Jadeite gloated. "Cry! Scream! that's all shallow-minded women like you can do without a man's help!" He gave an evil laugh.

"They've GOT a man's help!" Pluto said, charging up a bar. '...dead. scream..."

Jadeite disappeared before the blast could reach him. Pluto dropped her now-molten bar. Three more shots. She would have to find a way to pin him down. She looked around and sighted Jadiete off to the left, still gloating.

The gloating had gotten to the Inners. "These days only old men talk about men being better than women!" Mars said.

"To discriminate against women is a vestige of the feudal age!" Mercury chimed in.

"I'm opposed to sexual discrimination!" Moon said.

"Who's shallow-minded?" Jupiter said.

"We'll show you what women can do, Jadeite!" they all said as one.

Somehow Ranma-chan thought they were insulting *her*.

Jadeite was not impressed. "Stupid girls! Witness my power!" He renewed his control spell, moving the jets again.

"This way!" Pluto said, leading them to the de-wheeled jet. "Get on top! We'll need fog!"

They reached the grounded jet, where Mercury cast Shabon Spray. They had found in practice that she could effectively fog an entire valley; she knew she could cover the airport. Jadeite would be forced to come in after them.

He took the bait. He appeared on top of the cockpit; the Senshi were at mid-body. They dispersed, disappearing in the fog. "Where...?" He looked around.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" A lightning bolt hit him from straight in front. He ran forward along the body.

"...dead... scream..." A blast of wind knocked him forward. He stumbled and fell onto the wing.

Mars was now behind him, charging up a magic seal. "Ron-pyo-toh-sha-kai-jin-retsu-zai-zen!"

A tiara came flying out of the fog, forcing Jadeite to keep his head down and nearly decapitating him. A red-hot metal pole flew into the wing he was on just as another lightning bolt hit. The wing exploded.

The Senshi gathered close as the fog cleared. "Did we get him?" Jupiter asked.

"I don't see a body," Pluto said. "There should be one... I think he got away." She concentrated for a second. "But I don't see him troubling us anymore, either. He can't get away from his own people."

Sailor Moon suddenly cried out in dismay. "Waaaughhhh! We just destroyed a JET! How are we going to pay for that?" Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter were suddenly pale at the thought.

Pluto sweatdropped again. "We're superheroes. It comes with the territory."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A slightly-charred Jadeite materialized before Queen Beryl. The lack of Senshi corpses with him was the last straw. "Fool! You come crawling back to me?"

"Queen Beryl - the true forms of the Sailor Senshi..."

"No excuses! Sleep forever!" Her eyes flared with energy, which then shot at Jadeite. His cry was cut short as he was encased in crystal. The assembled youma whispered among themselves. The example was well taken.

"Dispose of that," Beryl ordered. One of the youma dragged the crysal mass though a short-range portal. The queen turned to Nephrite. "The task now falls to you."

"Jadeite was a fool. I shall not disappoint you."

From the shadows at the edge of the great chamber, another figure gave a trademark Dark Kingdom Gloat. "Somehow, I think you will, Nephrite... and then..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Inners wanted to stay at the airport and look for Tuxedo Mask. Pluto looked ahead several minutes and gave the go-ahead. "I'm sure he's none the worse for wear," she said. "I'm getting out before the SDF shows up. I got a major annoyance to deal with for the next few weeks." He took Moon by the shoulders. "I can't always be here, but you should know that you have the strength to do this. What's going to happen next will be hard, but there's no other way to get to the guizuishou. Be strong, Sailor Moon. Everyone's going to need you." She took off toward Nerima. On the way she glimsed the object of their worry dragging himself out of the bay and smiled.

Ranma-chan detransformed and hurried home. Strictly speaking, Happosai wasn't due to show up for another five weeks, but he would have to set up some special training in that time. Speed training was going to be the key, not only for them but a lot of his challenges. That, and a few trips to the library...

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Akane getting the duck-curse: another concept I wanted to explore - what if she had been too slow to dodge Shampoo's splash in volume 9 chapter 1? Nabiki would surely fly to China and not worry about being naked when she got cured; she would probably end up borrowing clothes from the Amazons. Akane would demand a trip, and the fathers would demand Ranma at least accompany her.

A few other random concepts:

- Wheels of Ranma: Inspired by "The Wheels of If". Hikaru Gosunkugi is reading up on paranormal things; in a journal of parapsychiactric research he finds an article on an old American case from the 1930's of induced Multiple Personality Disorder, exhibiting several personalities in succession, a new one each day, each claiming to be from a different world, some giving amazing details on their worlds' histories.

He interprets the inducing method as a chi technique, and enlists the help of Ranma's enemies in using it against him. They succeed, sending Ranma cycling through alternate worlds representing a list of outcomes to his romantic situation: Alone and on the road, apparently having avoided all commitments; leading engagement to Nabiki; to Kasumi; to Ukyo; to Shampoo; to Kodachi; a gratuitous scene of him waking up amid all of them at once, on a nudist world; waking in a Victorian-seeming Japan, finding he has put all of the above in the hospital - and finding out by the end of the day they are all giving birth to his children; various minor characters, exotic possibilities, etc.

- A concept seen in several other anime: body-switching. Akane is on another one of her periodic attempts at learning to cook, and is trying to make curry. Her disastrous failure just happens to be the body-switching curry from Shojo Kakumei Utena. The usual possibilites present themselves, but more explosive is that the effect isn't easily reversed: in fact it wears off naturally, slowly, but leaves the victims with each others' memories. This allows them to gain insight into the other person's life and situation.

The most useful one: Akane/Ranma, where Ranma is disgusted by the idea of being a girl and tries all the harder to become a man, but Akane realizes she has been wrong about Ranma in many ways: he is not a hentai, he's a CHILD...

Nearly as useful: Kasumi/Ranma, which causes Kasumi to realize she was wrong about Ranma, he ISN'T perfect for Akane, and so she takes the engagement, at least until/unless Akane grows up a little.

- Another way to cure the Ranma cast's general obtuseness and willful blindness: Introduce an original character, a priestess with a chi/massage technique said to "improve chi flows" and "promote enlightenment." It works too well - Akane realizes Ranma is not a hentai, Ranma stops being so gratuitously antagonistic, Kasumi realizes Akane is not right for Ranma after all, the Kunos realize who the pig-tailed girl really is, Akane realizes who P-chan is, etc.


	11. Off to the Races

Chapter 11: Off To The Races

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Note: The shopping center battle in which everyone gets cursed will probably be expanded later. It really feels like it ought to be epic, stretching across half the city.

Much of the fun of writing a fic like this is figuring out what happens when some part of the canon is erased/forestalled by a forward-looking Ranma. He is no longer subject to so many surprises, and at this point a lot of the things that drove the manga no longer apply.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next morning Ranma felt almost dead on his feet. Akane had to keep poking him awake in class.

By lunch he was perking up, courtesy of some energy drinks. Ukyo was making her trademark okonomiyaki specials; students from all over the school were crowding into the class for them.

"So how are you holding up, Ucchan?" he asked when she had a free moment.

"Great!" she said cheerily. "Why?"

"Your curse," Akane said. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"Actually, you know... no, it hasn't."

They blinked at that. "It hasn't?"

"I never really thought about it before, but I never really had contact with cold water most of the day before. Outside of a bathroom, that is. And even then I was just washing my hands, or got right in the tub. Now, I just wash in hot water. Cold water really hasn't threatened me."

"Don't tempt fate," Akane said. "Anything could happen. Ranma here is a water magnet."

"Most of that's his fights, isn't it? Or you giving him a splash?"

"Only when he deserves it. And it's not like it seems to bother him - he always sleeps as a girl."

"I'm just using my power to the max while I have it," Ranma said. "It only works in girl form."

"What about the boys' shower?" Ukyo asked. "None of the girls were bold enough to try it with me or Akane, but what about you? Didn't anyone try twisting your faucet handle and giving you a cold blast?"

"Once. You weren't there for it, but there were a lot of broken hands. They haven't dared since."

"Well, we're all going on a trip to China when we get enough money," Akane said. "You're welcome to come with us."

"Hah! I don't need to wait on you guys. It's not like *I'm* attached to living here. I can come and go as I please. Sooooo..." She gave Ranma a pointed look. "When do YOU want to leave, Ranchan?"

"I gotta stay and help them make money," he admitted. "It gets real painful if I don't..."

Ukyo glanced at Akane. "I'll bet."

Ranma looked at some of the ingredients of her latest work. "What you making there?"

"Little something for Kuno." She mixed some rat poison with the sauce.

"That won't be enough to kill him," Akane pointed out. Not that she didn't want to do the deed herself these days.

"Not in human form," Ukyo said. "But one splash and he's history!"

"Ummm... somehow I don't think he's going to be eating any okonomiyaki for a while," Ranma said.

"Well, what would YOU feed him?"

"If Akane was still cooking her usual stuff, I'd feed him that."

That got him a faceful of Akane's bento. "Let him try THAT."

Ukyo sweatdropped. "Lucky for me Ranchan didn't go for you. You seem like the type who'd love to have a fiancee who could see the future."

Ranma wiped off his face. "What she wants is one who can read her mind."

"Most women are like that sometimes, Ranchan."

Ranma sighed. "I think this is why Pop went on a permanent training trip in the wilderness. In civilization, women get to be real women and demand that men be, too."

Akane didn't quite know how to take that.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So when are you going flying?" Nabiki interrupted Akane as she was doing homework.

"NEVER. I am NOT a duck." She had even changed the nameplate on her door from a duck to an angel. Not her style, but she was never subtle.

"I wish I could trade curses with you."

"I'll bet. Then all the girls will call ME what they call you."

"Only behind my back. But think of it! Flying around town, landing on rooftops and branches, spying on people in plain sight and leaving them none the wiser..."

"Being naked in public."

"Covered in fur or feathers isn't really naked."

"It sure FEELS naked to me!"

"Psh. You let too many little things get to you. You have the chance to see some really interesting things."

"Nothing would be worth the embarrassment!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better we can have Kasumi fashion some clothes that fit a duck. How's that?"

"...maybe."

"Ah! So the shape itself isn't so bad?"

"I said only MAYBE! And anyway, there isn't really anything I'd want to see that I'd have to hide from."

"There might be one thing..."

"Like what?"

"Some of the stuff Ranma does sometimes. I think he's been helping those sailor girls."

"So now he's going loli? See! He really IS a pervert!"

Nabiki thought for a second, then realized how to get to her. "So we follow him and get the goods. Then we can tell Ukyo. I mean, if he's doing something like THAT, she really deserves to know, ne?"

That got a "gotcha!" look from Akane. Sometimes, Nabiki knew, it was just too easy.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The assembled youma looked on in casual interest as Nephrite presented his plan to Queen Beryl. He started by setting up a contrast with his predecessor, tarnishing Jadeite's reputation in doing so. "Jadeite chose a foolish method of obtaining energy from masses at random," he said.

"Then what will you do instead, Nephrite?" Beryl demanded.

"Unlike Jadeite, I can extract plenty of energy from a single human at once."

"How so?"

"Humans' fates are all controlled by the movements of the stars. As is their energy. There is a moment in their lives when their energy reaches its peak. I will read the stars and find a target whose energy is at its highest."

Others in the chamber had their own theories as to how best to gather energy. One of them came forth now. "You seem very confident," Zoicite said, floating into view from the shadows.

"Zoicite! What are you doing here?"

The blond General did not bother to answer that. "Your overconfidence will be your downfall," he predicted.

"Get out. I will enter the human world and exploit their weakness. Do not interfere."

"You'd better not disappoint Queen Beryl. She can be very scary." He teleported away in his trademark shower of rose petals.

Beryl smiled. Keep them at each others' throats, she knew, and they will be too insecure to challenge me. "Nephrite, I have high hopes for you..."

Elsewhere in the chamber, other opinions were kept silent for now. One general in particular was very interested in the Senshi that had defeated Jadeite. He wished to know more about them, and whether, as his rival Generals thought, they were manageable with only a single youma...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Phobos and Deimos eyed the yard of the Hikawa Temple from the edge of the temple roof. Normally their attentions would be focused on the Senshi meeting in Rei's room, but this evening they were fixated on two interlopers.

They had had to respect the wolf that came slinking into the bushes; they wouldn't last long against a large predator like that. But the duck that landed in a tree they couldn't ignore; they darted forth and circled it, preparing to dart at it in fast attacks. Then they sensed something about it, landed on nearby branches, and exchanged intelligent glances for several seconds before retreating to the temple. The two natives of the planet Kronos wondered how many other worlds Galaxia was conquering, and how many fellow refugees they could expect to come to Earth.

The intruders were not a concern for long; the duck left after less than an hour and the wolf followed soon after. Perhaps they had seen what they came to see. The crows turned their attention to the Senshi and their new elderly mentor.

Ranma-chan had been projecting results of tests with possible staves. "Plastics just melt. Woods don't handle the magic either. Cherry comes closest, I know it handles chi pretty well, but this kind of magic... nothing really works in wood."

"What of metals?" Cologne said. "You said aluminum melted too fast. Steel was good for one shot. Let's look at what else we can get."

A few minutes of looking showed pure iron was far worse than steel. Copper, strangely, was much better, and bronze was the best they could get on short notice, much better than steel. "Why would that be?" Ranma asked. "Shouldn't they melt faster?

"I wonder if this Silver Millenial magic is related to faery magic, which iron absorbs rather strongly. If it is, the less iron the better. It's a matter of attunement to the kind of magic. Some metals channel certain kinds better than others."

"What about these?" Ami asked, opening her science text to the periodic table. "Can we get any of these?"

Cologne eyed the table. "This is an awful lot of materials. What would you suggest we start with?"

Working with Ami, they determined they could get poles or tubes of molybdenum and tungsten from industrial mills, factories, or supply houses; both worked much better than bronze. Silver and gold worked better yet. If they were willing to spend hugely on the commodities markets, palladium and some rare earths seemed to work best of any pure metals. There were simply too many possible alloys to consider more than a handful, but none seemed to work better.

"So, for what we can get quickly, a tungsten tube filled with a silver core. How does that sound?" Cologne asked.

"Works great," Ranma said after a moment's concentration. "Can you really get that much silver cheap, though?"

"We have plenty of useless coins lying around, and our smith would love the challenge. It will probably only take two months. You said your presence wouldn't be decisive before then."

"Wait a second," Makoto said. "This guinzuishou we're looking for is a crystal, and it channels our magic like nothing else. Waht about other crystals? A crystal core rod?"

"Nope," Ranma said. "I think it would have to be a single piece. Nobody makes quartz rods that long, and there's no way for any other kind. If it were a foot-long wand, maybe, but this feels like it needs to be a staff."

"But you're sure this will allow you to fight the Dark Kingdom at close to your full power?" Mars said. "I can't wait to storm in and get it over with!"

"We aren't strong enough yet," Ami reminded her.

"Quite so," Cologne said. "You must all be patient. The schedule we have worked out will have you able to defeat them eventually."

"Yeah!" Usagi said. "How about some tennis for training...?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They were mostly surprised when Usagi was able to defeat the next youma with the help of only Tuxedo Mask. Rei and Makoto wanted more opportunities to face youma and try out some tactical plans and martial arts moves.

Cologne was dismissive. "She's still a spoiled princess who shouldn't be risked in battle if it can't be helped. Unfortunately, for the time being, it can't. The rest of you, I can see your warrior spirits. You're ready to fight, even if you don't have your full powers yet." That suited her, as it was what she was used to dealing with in training the girls of her village.

They all worked on speed exercises, with Ranma leading them in quick reaction drills. "You'll get all kinds of stuff thrown at you. Learn to see it coming and dodge quickly. Always stay in motion, don't give the enemy a chance to target you. It won't always work, they must train like this too, some of them can hit targets moving faster than I can, but it will help against a lot of them."

His meditations ranged across the history of the world, venturing into past choices and paths not taken. He saw worlds with no Islam, no Christianity, no Judaism. Worlds where strange faiths spread like wildfire, even conquering Japan. He saw the Mongols overrun Japan. He saw Japan remain open to the world instead of closing itself off.

He saw the Pacific War, and how Japan might have fought differently. Ranma was eventually convinced Cologne wanted to humble him with this line of investigation - it showed him nothing made any difference in the long run. Whatever Japan did, the Americans would roll over them. But if it held off the American tide for too long, the Soviets took a hand and imposed a Communist revolution on a land that, unlike China, wasn't in the least inclined to it. In some ways they were actually worse than the Mongols - destroying so much of what Japan considered its distinctive culture and language, leaving a population stagnating at thirty million, mostly half-breeds, a nation in poverty like North Korea, with no sense of itself or respect for its history.

Cologne, of course, claimed it was more as an understanding of what the Dark Kingdom might do if they won. "What do you see if they defeat you?"

"I can't see that. I can get glimpses of a distant future after I'm dead, but not if they win. That sounds right to me. They'd have to win over my dead body."

"A distant future, you say? How distant?"

"Dunno. All of central Tokyo had to get demolished at some point - it was rebuilt with some big crystal palace."

Cologne had been keeping a journal of Ranma-chan's visions. She wrote a new entry. "Another piece of the puzzle..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next day, one of Ranma's friends showed up at the Nekohanten.

"I AM NOT HIS FRIEND!" Ryoga objected. He was at least grateful this Chinese restaurant hadn't tried to cook him.

"Oh so?" Cologne made some shaved ice at Amaguriken speed. "Care to join me?"

"Just what do you mean?"

"I am offering to train you."

"Feh. Don't be absurd. I'm not so weak that I need training from some old lady." He hefted his pack and began looking for the door. "Ta-ta, granny."

"All right. But come back any time you change your mind." She smiled knowingly. Ranma had told her to keep this part of his schedule intact: he wanted Ryoga to become a more worthy training partner. Of course, Ryoga would see their relationship in somewhat different terms.

Right on cue, he passed through again. "Where's the door?"

"He have very bad sense of direction," Shampoo observed.

*As Ranma said...* Cologne thought. *I wonder if something can be done about that...*

Ranma, of course, had no trouble later that day convincing Ryoga to take the offer.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Honestly!" Akane said. "It's summer vacation, for pity's sake! How could I get stuck with this?"

It was rhetorical. Her father and sisters had suggested it as a way to further hone her cooking skills. There were suggestions that her learning to cook was more a matter of her having developed a cast iron stomach and killing all her taste buds. The Saotomes, with strong stomachs and no great sense of taste themselves, were perfect test subjects.

They were training in the mountains in the north of the country. Ranma knew Ryoga was not far away, learning the Breaking Point technique, something he was working on himself, along with many others. He could manage a Moko Takabisha now and had plenty of speed; now he wanted more precision and power. It was just a matter of sweat.

In a mountain region closer to Tokyo practitioners of a more magically oriented combat art were also training. "FIRE SOUL!"

"Owww! That was too close, Rei!"

"Well, if you were training with us every night you would have dodged that!"

"Come on guys! This isn't my idea of a fun summer vacation!"

"Then why are you here?" Makoto asked.

"Because you are. That's what summer vacation is about, spending time with friends. So... how about we hit the water park tomorrow?"

"Two more days," Rei said. That got more grumbles from Usagi.

Back at the Saotome camp, dinner was about ready. "Man, I'm starved."

"So! Curry tonight, eh?" Genma said.

"It may not look like much, but...here." Akane handed them her work.

They tried it. "Tastes flat," Genma said.

"Well, thanks!" Akane said harshly. "I did my best and that's all you can say?"

Ranma wondered if he could get Akane together with Makoto sometime. He had tried some of the Senshis' bentos once. Just now, he figured Akane was inching ahead of Usagi.

That night, he decided to get some sleep rather than follow Akane to Ryoga's camp. He didn't know if they WOULDN'T get closer, but if they did, all the better to him. Maybe it would soften Ryoga up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane, Genma, and Cologne stood under a tree as Ranma and Ryoga stared at each other across a rocky saddle between two slopes. Neither wanted to give ground.

"PREPARE TO DIE!" Ryoga shouted. He charged in, holding his finger forward.

Ranma crouched low, forcing Ryoga to aim low. Just before the finger struck the ground in front of him, he leapt and sailed over Ryoga's back, reaching around his body on the way over to land a Breaking Point strike of his own on the ground beneath. Ryoga's body caught all of the shrapnel, shredding his shirt.

Ryoga's flesh did not seem any worse for wear as they landed in exchanged places facing each other again. "For someone trained by her," Ranma said, indicating Cologne, "you sure leave a lot of openings."

"So... you also studied the Breaking Point. We're even, then. Whoever lands the first blow wins!" In his mind, it was like a classic gun duel: they each had the power to kill in an instant. He charged again, only to have Ranma dodge well clear.

"You know, she may have exaggerated a bit about how useful it is," he said as he led Ryoga around the field, both throwing strikes that gradually turned the ground between two hills into gravel.

"They're going to kill themselves before they kill each other!" Akane said. "They're both getting hammered by shrapnel!"

"The training promotes toughness," Genma said. "They're taking less damage than they would have from those blasts a week ago."

Akane saw that it was true. Their clothes were wrecked but their bodies were holding up. There were no actual penetrations by pebbles.

"Ranma is also dodging better," Cologne pointed out. "He has more agility."

"The true srength of the Anything-Goes style!" Genma announced proudly.

"Avoiding the enemy?" Akane asked. Genma merely gave her a stern glance.

Ranma was throwing punches and kicks along with Breaking Point strikes, sending Ryoga flying. Ryoga kept coming back for more. "One hit and it's all over, Ranma!"

"You know," Ranma said," I don't think you can break flesh. Bone, maybe, if can see the right place to his, but you'd have to see through the flesh..." He leapt free again as Ryoga came down with another strike. "Basically, it isn't going to work on people or animals."

Ryoga wasn't listening. He was hell-bent of destroying Ranma, with this or any other technique he could find. Ranma sent him flying with a kick, smashing into a gouged-out hillside, sending rocks collapsing on top of him.

He waited patiently while Ryoga recovered. The lost boy did not disappoint. He emerged less than a minute later. "You've gotten weak, Ranma! Your kick felt like the touch of a baby's foot!"

Ranma knew Ryoga's own blows would be less effective against himself, something he would have to demonstrate later when the Breaking Point had lost its novelty. He managed a defensive retreat, dodging strikes and leading Ryoga into the woods to a cliff overlooking a river. At the top he set up the end as he had foreseen: jump to a branch, rebound, use the recoil to magnify an Amaguriken in the chest. This he repeated twice more before tumbling with Ryoga off the cliff.

The spectators gathered at the top of the cliff and saw the two disappear into the water. "Is it always going to end like this?" Akane asked. "Ryoga not fighting anymore because of getting wet?"

A few minutes later, Ranma-chan dragged the wet pig onto the bank. "Not your lucky day this time, Ryoga. don't worry. Your cure is coming. Just a couple more weeks..."

*Way sooner than mine,* she thought. *Ah, Ryoga, you think you've seen Hell. You're so lucky...*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They headed back to Tokyo together, Ryoga kept in pig form held by Akane. Ranma wasn't sure, but he thought she was snuggling him.

In Tokyo they stopped for a rest in a park and lost track of the pig. "I wouldn't worry," Ranma told Akane. "He's bound to show up at home before long."

That seemed to relieve Akane. They headed home, leaving the pig to wander the park, lost in the woods and thinking he had made his way back to their training grounds somehow. Or maybe Hokkaido. That had happened a few times, as he recalled.

He decided not to make his situation any worse, and stayed put in the forest. He slept away the afternoon, hoping to find some hot water to change when he woke up. The worst part was they still had his clothing and backpack, so he would have to find clothing somewhere or find his way home without asking directions. Not that that had ever helped before.

He awoke to find himself surrounded by squirrels. He didn't like the looks they were giving him. Their eyes began to glow. Any one of them he should be able to take in this form; but against sheer numbers... he backed away. They followed. Soon it was a full-fledged chase.

He ran into the open to find he was still in the park, now close to a lake. He jumped into the water, watching the squirrels lose interest. They headed off in another direction. But now the fish in the lake were coming toward him. They likely couldn't hurt him, but he backed up onto the sidewalk anyway.

Light flared in the direction the squirrels had gone. Some birds started to converge there; another flock harassed a dating couple in a rental boat until they capsized and had to swim to shore. Fog suddenly obscured the area. Lightning followed.

The dating couple had reached the dock. Ryoga moved toward them. "Are you all right?" the young man asked.

"I'm fine," his girlfriend answered. "But Mamoru, you're ill..."

"It's nothing."

"Sure?" She looked around. "What an evil aura... Mamoru, stay here. I'll be right back."

Ryoga followed her into the woods. She paid him no attention - probably assumed he was another of the park animals. She pulled something out of a pocket and held it up, shouting "MARS POWER, MAKE UP!"

What followed almost made him pass out with a nosebleed. The rings of fire and coruscating red aura didn't do much to hide her nudity. When it was over she was wearing a type of kitschy sailor costume. Come to think of it, had he seen something like that before...?

He followed her out of the woods and over to the area where the fog was now dissipating. The girl he was following clasped her hands together, fingers pointing, and said "Fire Soul!" Fire erupted from the pointed fingers to burn away vines what had to be a teammate.

The teammate was not entirely grateful. "Owowowowowwwww! Rei! Can't you think of a better way to do that?"

"Is that all you have to say after I rescue you?" Rei turned to the enemy they were battling, some half-plant, half-woman thing. "So, you messed up my date?"

Ryoga surveyed the sides. Facing the monster were a total of four sailor-suited girls. Their basic body suits were white, with color-coded skirts, footgear, and trimmings. The one he had seen transform, Rei, was in red; another in blue, one in green, one in red AND blue. The one in green said "Let's go!"

Rei charged up her attack again while the others spread out, trying to cover the monster if it fled. It didn't try; it sent more vines out, trying to snare all of them at once. It got the blue and green ones, but the red-and-blue one was a bit too wide, and the red one kept her fire going and burned away the vines, allowing the others to complete their attacks.

The monster was stunned, then cut in half by a thrown frisbee from the blue-and-red girl. The halves shriveled to dust.

They all relaxed. Then they detransformed. This time Ryoga did pass out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The following week was relatively quiet for summer vacation. The usual Nerima business kept everyone occupied: Ranma continuing to build speed, strength, and precision. The next new martial arts challenge to materialize was a contest of Martial Arts Take-Out Delivery, a race organized by several of the small restaurants in the area.

"Me? Enter this 'Miss Martial Arts Take-Out' contest?" Akane asked. "Why in the world do I have to..." She noticed what everyone was eating. "Ah, now I get it. Selling out your own daughter for an order of eel teriyaki. Shame on you."

Soun was offended. "I did no such thing! It was FIVE orders! How could I say no?"

"Aren't you gonna eat, Akane?" Nabiki asked.

"You too, Ranma?" Akane noticed he was also eating the eel teriyaki. She grabbed the box from him.

"How about we both race?" Ranma said. "I'll keep to the streets. I warn you, Shampoo will be there. She does this for a living."

"Make it a real challenge, Ranma," Nabiki suggested. "Don't use your Sight. No looking at what anyone is going to do."

"Pah! I don't need it for something like this." He did not mention that it was too late. He had already looked at the outcome of the race and decided who to help.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Rei! Mako-chan!" Usagi waved and ran to her friends. Naru and Ami were already with her. Luna was on her shoulder, happy to be around the Senshi when Ranma was not. It suited her that Pluto would leave them to their battles for a while; she was getting frustrated at being shut out. Though she had to admit, it his advice, and Cologne's, was much the same as she would give.

The group got together and stood along the route of today's event, a martial arts themed race. Rei had her new pet pig with her, which she had found at the site of their last battle. "Good to see you attending a martial arts event for once, odango atama. Watch some of these people and you might learn a thing or two."

"Why would she need to learn martial arts?" Naru asked. "No one wants to hurt her."

"You never know," Usagi said. "Some of your luck mught rub off onto me. In fact you seem like you need training more than anyone. The monsters seem to have a thing for you..."

"That so?" Makoto asked. "How many times have you been attacked?"

"Too many," Naru said. "I'm jogging a lot more these days. Running away is about all a normal person can do. Let the Sailor Senshi fight them!"

"Is Ranma going to be here?" Makoto asked. "This seems like his kind of thing."

"Oo, is this Ranma a new boyfriend of yours?"

"He might be, if I can... uhh... meet him properly," Makoto said carefully.

"I want to see more of him too," Usagi said. "He can be such a hunk!"

"So then you're giving up on Mamoru?" Rei asked.

"Mamoru? We're not even together! He can be such a drag. He's so mean to me."

Makoto drew Usagi away from Naru and lowered her voice. "But didn't Ranma say you two end up together?"

"It's hard to see how. All he does is pick on me and call me names like Rei. She can have him for all I care!"

"I don't know. Ranma never seems to be wrong about anything. Maybe things will change."

"Why would they?"

"I don't know. Love can be funny like that sometimes. Everyone's heard stories about this kind of thing, haven't they? Some people start out hating each other and then find they have stuff in common. Maybe you were connected in a past life or something."

"But our past lives were... uhmmm... if I was a princess and he was in love with me... wouldn't he have to be a prince?" Usagi found it hard to see anything princely in Mamoru Chiba.

"Maybe. I wish Ranma would tell us when it's safe to bring him in to us. He seems like he'd be a big help."

The race was now about to begin. Ranma-chan was among the contestants, to no one's surprise. "Figure's he'd be IN it like that," Makoto whispered. They didn't want to have to explain about Jusenkyo curses to Naru just yet.

A purple-haired competitor they recognized as Cologne's great-granddaughter, Shampoo, whispered something to Ranma. Judging by Ranma's reaction, the comment wasn't entirely expected. That surprised them: didn't he know everything that was coming? Ranma leaned over to his other side and exchanged a few words with the competitor there, delivering okonomiyaki for a place called Ucchan's. The Ucchan's girl backed up and allowed someone else to take her position.

The race began. Shampoo jabbed a finger at Ranma's take-out box. Ranma deftly dodged, leaving the other girl to strike a different competitor. They were amazed to find it was a martial arts strike that destroyed the bowl inside the box. "What a technique!" Makoto was impressed. "I wonder if we can get her to teach us that."

Ranma kept leaping around the field, allowing Shampoo to destroy the deliveries of all the contestants but theirs. All of the other competitors save Ucchan's and a girl representing a barbecue house were disqualified before the first turn.

Rei's pig squealed after her. "P-chan? What is it?" She looked into the pig's eyes for a second. "Strange... it almost looks like you know her..."

Cologne hopped up on her stick. "Oh so... you've got a pet pig now?" She got a mischevious gleam in her eye. "Where did you find him?"

"In a park," Rei said. "He might have an owner. Grandpa gave me permission to look after him until we find out for sure, as long as I keep him clean."

"Ah. Well, I'm sure you'll find the owner soon enough. come, let's get to the client..."

They let Naru go on ahead as Cologne explained who was who. The BBQ girl was one of the family Ranma was staying with. "Technically, he has the right to choose her as his fiancee."

"Wow! Isn't that kind of awkward? Racing against a fiancee?" Usagi asked.

"He has other options for fiancees. The okonomiyaki girl is another - the one he prefers... at least at the moment. Shampoo asked if she could have a date with him if she won. She's laying out her case for marriage, so that she can keep the Lady in our village."

"But then wouldn't this Akane girl be jealous?"

"She dosen't really want the engagement either. And her sisters have an equal claim on him. She has other problems, though. The so-called 'randomly' chosen client for this race is someone who has a crush on her. She can't stand him."

"That sounds messy," Makoto said. "But then couldn't she get this creep off her by getting Ranma to take her?"

"She doesn't want either of them. In fact it seems as if she doesn't want ANY boyfriend or fiancee right now. In my village we'd say she was being childish, refusing to face adulthood."

"Well, here, it's not THAT bad. I know some people in high school don't like the pressure to go with someone."

"Women are liberated these days," Rei said. "Lots of Japanese men want wives who will just cook, clean, make house, raise kids. Like we were appliances. We want more than that."

"That's why a lot of women in this country are waiting until their thirties to get married these days," Ami pointed out.

"Eekkk!" Usagi was suddenly scared at the thought. "Not me! I'm getting married before I'm 25! I'm not going to be an old maid!"

"But even twenty-five is still a lot of time!" Makoto said. "Ranma's being pressured into marriage when he's SIXTEEN. That's medieval!"

Cologne decided not to waste breath arguing to point. "City girls! The realities of life in a remote country village in China are quite different. We are from different worlds," she said simply.

"Yeah," Rei said, suddenly laughing. "You're from Earth, and we're from the Moon." They all had to join her laugh at that.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Food delivery!" Ukyo and Akane tried to shoulder each other aside as they entered the Kuno mansion through the front door. They saw the far wall explode, making a hole for Shampoo to enter. Ranma crashed down through the wooden roof, holding a bowl of noodles up, barely still intact.

The race announcer followed Shampoo in. "Amazing! A three-way tie! Now the Miss Martial Arts Takeout contest comes to its climax!"

"What is that idiot Kuno doing here?" Ukyo asked.

"Don't ask me," Akane said. She had not recognized his mansion, having sworn never to go near it if it could be helped.

"Whichever girl gets him to eat her food first wins the race!" the announcer explained.

"I guess that rules me out," Ranma-chan said. "Ucchan, he might forgive you -"

"Needs more sauce," Ukyo said, pulling out her poisoned sauce bottle and trying to apply it to her okonomiyaki. Ranma quickly swiped it out of her hand. "Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"Not the place," Ranma said.

Kuno was fixated on Akane. She had come here for the first time? To bring him food? "I never dreamed you loved me so much!" He gave her a glomp.

"And just what do you think you're doing!" Akane booted Kuno through the roof.

Instantly, Shampoo followed him through the hole. "I WIN RACE!" She grabbed some noodles in chopsticks and reached for Kuno's mouth while in flight.

"Y-you are in love with me too?" Kuno asked. It was little surprise to him; all manner of women swooned over him.

Ranma quickly leapt to intercept, grabbing Shampoo's arm in a leg lock. On the ground, Ukyo saw she had no direct line to Kuno to throw to him and followed Akane out into the yard, judging where their client would land.

"That's it...right this way..." Akane suddenly had to contend with a body-slam from Ukyo, trying to take her spot. Shampoo landed before Kuno and knocked her arm out of the way, sending an okonomiyaki flying.

Everyone was now on the ground. Ranma-chan had abandoned her bowl and stood near Ukyo. Shampoo held her chopsticks ready. "I win race, I am date with Ranma! No one stop Shampoo now!"

"I haven't agreed to anything..." Ranma tried to protest. No one seemed to notice.

Shampoo wound up. "Martial Arts Takeout Special Attack! CHOW MEIN STRIKE!" Noodles snaked toward Kuno's mouth.

The announcer was feverishly trying to explain the power of the technique as Ranma-chan interposed herself, intending to catch the noodles in her own mouth. She missed slightly, getting them wrapped around her head. Shampoo withdrew them and prepared another strike.

"Like usual, Ranma, you TOO good," Shampoo said, admiring her honor. Thus far, her timing had not seemed to be predictive. She must be relying on martial arts skill alone.

Kuno backed away and gave a signal. The ground beneath their feet suddenly opened, dumping the four girls into an underground room with a hardwood floor. Kuno leapt down to join them. "Welcome to the Kuno family underground training facility. Since you all want me so desperately," - counting only those who still had their food, of course - "to take food from any one of you would insult the others. This leaves only one choice. We must ALL live here togeth-"

His lunge was stopped by a foot to the face and a large spatula on his crown. But with Akane's foot in Kuno's face, she was open to attack from Shampoo, who sent her box flying. She narrowly caught it.

With Kuno free, Ukyo offered her okonomiyaki. Shampoo turned her attention to her final rival and tried to knock her offering away. Ranma was in the way.

Shampoo did the only thing she could think of: she gave a catlike "MEOW!" Ranma was stunned just long enough for Shampoo to get an arm past and grab the okonomiyaki to stuff it in Ranma's mouth.

Ukyo had several more still in her box. Retrieving one cost her precious seconds. Shampoo now tried to offer her noodles - only to have Akane splash her with water. The squirrel and her noodles fell to the floor.

Unfortunately for her, she tried to do the same for Ukyo. This time the water was thrown back by spatula. While the duck was hiding in her clothes, and Ranma had a death grip on the squirrel, Ukyo was able to stuff her okonomiyaki in Kuno's face. followed immediately by a pail of water.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I just KNOW you worked that out," Akane grumbled.

"Me?" Ranma, now returned to male form, adopted a hurt expression. He could still indulge in sarcasm pretty well.

"Don't feel bad," Ukyo said. "Wasn't this fun?"

"It more fun when win," Shampoo said.

"I didn't win," Ukyo said. "Kuno's still walking."

"You think he's a pain?" Ranma said. "Wait till you see what's coming..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Random ideas, continued:

Placing anime characters in various classic books, games, etc. Aside from the "Wheels of If" idea, consider the World State of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

Ranma would absolutely not work in the year 600 AF, as the World State is well designed to prevent such situations as his from arising. Most likely he would be a historical example cited to illustrate the shortcomings of families and why the family unit was abolished. Sailor Moon, on the other hand, seems to work well in 600 AF. Obvious lemon possibilities, of course. In a world of gratuitous pleasures and meaningless sex, the Senshi fight to destroy the World State and reestablish the rule of Love...

MMORPG's: In Everquest terms, Ranma, Genma, and Soun would be Monks. Happosai would actually be a Gnome Rogue. Akane might be a Monk, but could conceivably be a Warrior. Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Kuno clearly Warriors. Nabiki and Kasumi NPC's. Gosunkugi might be a Mage or Necromancer (low-level.)

In World of Warcraft: Ranma would hate the WoW rules. He dosen't properly fit in the class structure - the closest he can come is a Rogue specializing in Fist weapons. Even that cripples him, as he dosen't get the Rogue class defining ability, Stealth (Umisenken) until late in the manga. Some have described Disc Priests as Monks, but they can still cast spells. Ranma characters are also known for being sparse with gear, wearing only a few pieces. Most of their battles are probably best interpreted as PvP. In true Warcraft PvP battles at their likely experience level (40's and 50's) they CANNOT win against normally-geared characters, and will usually get KO'd in ten seconds or less. At level 80, without suitable gear, they get beaten by everyone and their dog.

- OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE -

In a more standard (thus far) Ranmaverse, pre-Nodoka...

"Stay still, you old freak!"

"That would defeat the purpose, no?" Happosai was bounding around the countryside like he'd had too much caffeine. Or stolen too many panties. Ranma was hard pressed to keep up.

Happosai had dragged him away from the city for a little training in seclusion, where they could go all out without disturbing too many people. Ranma had agreed mainly to keep him from molesting the neighborhood in Nerima. His hopes that withuot women and underwear to energize him would make the elderly master easier to handle were so far being disappointed.

He chased Happosai across a field, over a creek, through some trees, always frustrated by his unpredictable bounces. He seemed to know exactly which way Ranma was hoping he'd go and finding another way.

Finally Ranma caught a bit of luck. He hesitated for an instant when Happosai was obscured by a tree. When he emerged, he found his target moving toward arm's reach. He made the most of the opportunity, swatting Happosai at full force into a low rise.

The old man smashed into the slope. "Gotcha!" Ranma said, pausing to catch his breath before walking up to the crater, ready for the old man to come rocketing out.

He was taking an awfully long time doing so. Ranma risked relaxing his guard as he peered into the deep hole. Too deep - he had smashed through into a cave of some kind. He dug the hole wide enough to allow him to pass and crawled into the cave.

The dim light from outside showed it was no mere cave; it was a basement, full of wreckage of some kind, mostly wood and glass. A layer of dust covered everything. Some charts were still pinned to the walls.

"An opening!" Ranma was knocked on his face by a blow to the back. Fool - he should have known the old freak would do that. He turned over, swatted his opponent into a corner, and brushed some dust off.

"Take that," he said, then looked around. "What is this place? Some kind of office? Did a doctor live here?"

Happosai recovered and searched the room. "Now this is interesting. There was definitely nothing like this here the last time I was in this area."

"That was what - a hundred years ago?" It looked to Ranma like it might be that old.

"Not quite." Happosai thought for a moment. "Had to have been before the Great Kanto Quake, I'm sure."

"Whatever. Let's get back outside." He started moving back toward the entrance they had made.

"Ooo - looky here. What do we have? A pretty lady!" The hentai master bounded over to a dusty mound against one wall. He raised a cloud brushing it off.

It looked human, but Ranma knew it couldn't be, from the amount of dust. It had to have lain here for decades. "A mannequin...?" he wondered.

"Well, of course. Maybe for instructional purposes. Not bad looking, though." It was made to look female, with a striking face and pink hair. The skin seemed supple - almost alive. Ranma wouldn't have thought a mannequin could have been made so realistic in the 1920's.

"Ah, well, leave it. You can always buy yourself a doll." He tried to leave again, only to have Happosai pull him face to face with the mannequin.

"Come on, Ranma! You need to learn to appreciate beauty more! Besides, you need practice kissing Akane! I haven't seen you do it properly once!"

"Well, it's not like she gives me a lot of reason to try!" He tried to wrench his head away, only to have Happosai force him back.

"Well, maybe it's because you're horrible at it! You need something to practice on, and this would be perfect!" And with that, he mashed Ranma's lips to the artificial girl's face.

Happosai would later describe this as his greatest mistake. But how was he to know those lips connected to advanced components designed to respond to chi, particularly high-level chi such as Ranma had in abundance?

They both felt the pulse. Then something like a hearbeat from withing the girl. A sudden sharp breath as Happosai allowed Ranma to move his face back. The eyes fluttered, then opened fully.

"Master... are you... Kurumi's master?" she asked.

-RANMA NI BUN NO ICHI : KOTETSU NO TENSHI-

Not coming any time soon to a fanfic site near you.

"RANMA NO BAKA!" WHAM. Ranma went sailing over the Nerima skyline, courtesy of Akane Air.

"DON'T HIT MASTER!" WHAM. Akane went sailing over the Nerima skyline, courtesy of Kurumi Air.

"MY DAUGHTER - !" Soun's Demon Head was suddenly deflated by a high-powered punch from Saki. "Oops. How clumsy of me."

"More tea, please," Karinka said. Kasumi happily obliged. If only she could get Ranma to kiss her, with her two Angel Hearts, she would be more powerful than Kurumi!

Nabiki gave a mirthless smile. By her calculations, the balance of power in the household, and in Nerima, had just shifted drastically in favor of everyone's favorite punching bag.

She wondered if it were time to invest in a few construction companies.


	12. Freaks

Chapter 12: Freaks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the Hida mountains, a storm raged.

The storm was not the cause of a warded boulder exploding. No lightning bolts came near it, not at the moment of explosion. The force came from behind it, from the cave it blocked.

Evil had awakened. An evil long contained, now finally free. Years of work, of careful hibernation and recovery of power, had gone into this moment. Now a diminutive being stood free at last to breathe the night air and roam the world once more.

It did not roam far. A hundred meters up the hill, THAT was when the lightning struck.

This only slowed it down. Soon it was roaming again. It knew where to find its captors. It knew what had to be done.

It began walking the dark and lonely road. A road that, for it, would lead to paradise.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane encountered it first.

There was a commotion in the street on the way home from school. Some of her classmates were either running from, or trying to fight, a small, wizened figure that leapt at them with obvious lechery in its eyes. "Akane! Help! A pervert!"

So it was. A very OLD pervert. One that seemed to recognize her on sight. "AKANE! It's me! It's me!"

Akane blocked with her book bag. The other girls were amazed. "Akane! You know him?"

Akane looked at him. Something vaguely familiar... "Um... DO I know you?"

"You don't remember me?"

"Well... uh... wait! I'll try to remember!" She wouldn't normally give this sort of courtesy to a demonstrated hentai of any age, but there was something nagging at her.

"Don't... don't trouble yourself about me," the sobbing old man said. "Just allow me to... have a good cry in your BOSOM!" He leapt at her, only to be blocked again. This time she gave him a number of lumps, as she should have at the start.

"Ah! You're Soun Tendo's daughter all right! So high-spirited!" He tapped a foot.

"You... you know my father?"

"What? You mean you really ARE Soun's daughter?" Suddenly the old man looked surprised.

"I think you've got some talking to do."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane led the man home. Her father's look said enough.

"Hello, Soun. It's been a long time." The old man waved.

Soun broke into tears. "Muh... MASTER! Oh, thank heavens you're safe!" He hugged the old man like a boa constrictor trying to crush the life from its prey.

"Hahaha! I'm as healthy as ever!" the old man said.

"Master?" Akane had picked up on that. Had this pervert taught her father at some point?

Soun, still keeping the old man immobilized in one arm, made a fist with his free hand and tried to hammer him. The old man worked an arm free and met the fist with a single finger. Soun's grip was instantly broken as he flew across the room.

Genma, already in panda form, played like one. The newcomer wasn't fooled. "Well, Genma Saotome! Haven't changed a bit, have you?"

[I'M JUST AN ORDINARY PANDA] he signed.

Soun had recovered. "Sao...to...me... you think you can run off and let me face this ALONE?" The panda looked as if he were about to do just that.

"What in the world is going on here?" Akane asked.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane and her sisters sat through the story told by their father. All were reminded of the time Ranma had looked into their fathers' past. He had called it perfectly.

Now the old master, this 'Happosai', was back. The fathers wept at their recollections. "Ah, what golden memories!" Genma said.

"But you made one big mistake!" Happosai said, "You didn't finish me off!"

That they agreed on. "But it's still not too late!" they said as they struck again. This proved futile; Happosai proved he was still too strong for them. "Of course, we were only joking..."

"Ah, of course you were. Don't worry, I haven't come for revenge. I'm getting old. It's time to train the true heir to my Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. That will be one of you."

They made to pack up and leave. "Where are you going?" Happosai asked.

"I just remembered I have to move to China," Soun said.

"I have to do some training," Genma added.

"COME BACK HERE!" Happosai moved to block their escape. "If you need to train it will be under me!"

"What about Akane?" Kasumi asked. "She practices the school, too."

"I can't train a girl!" he said. He could grope them, though. He leapt at Akane, who tore him from her chest and hammered him mercilessly.

"Not me!" she finally said. "If you're training anyone in this school, you're training Ranma."

The fathers brightened at that. "Yes!" Genma said. "My son is the student you want! A true man!" He looked around. "Where is that boy? Never around when you need him..."

The sisters could guess why. "Never around when he can see trouble coming..." Nabiki said. "True practitioner of Anything-Goes. Avoiding bad situations when he doesn't want to face them. Just like his father."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

An hour later, Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Ranma came in. "Oh! Ranma! We have a guest. He said he was our fathers' Master."

"Is he?" Ranma asked. It sounded rhetorical. "When did he last see them?"

"Why... I think he said it's been at least ten years."

"Ten years. Did he know any of you?"

"Well, he did say he remembered Akane..."

"And Akane? Did SHE remember HIM?"

"Well, no...not fully..."

"Hmmm. If it was only ten years ago, she would have been, what, six years old at the time? She might not remember." He gave Kasumi a very unnerving look. "But YOU. You were nine. Your memory should be clearer. Do YOU remember him?"

"Well, no... I don't think he was ever at this house before. Mother wouldn't allow him here, I think."

"Ah. What did she say about him?"

Kasumi looked uneasy. She was trying to think. "Actually, she did say a few things about him... none of them good. She never mentioned him by name, but I think she blamed him for not being able to see Father very often before then."

Ranma nodded. "Sounds about right. I suppose he wants to pick up where he left off?"

"Yes. He said he wanted to train the true heir to the school. We figured..."

"That would be me," Ranma finished. "Well, I think someone he knows might have something to say about that..." He headed into the living room to face the music.

The fathers were immediately ecstatic. "RANMA! Thank heavens you're here! Where have you been! We've been waiting hours for you!"

"Ah ha," Happosai said. "So you're Genma's boy? Hmmm... Let's see what you're made of."

Ranma tried to dodge as fast as he could. He was an instant too slow. The old man leapt at him and caught his arm with his smoking pipe, sending him flying through the roof.

"Pathetic. Well, at least he's a boy, so I guess he'll have to do. I won't have to be gentle." He settled back down to his smoking.

Up on the roof Ranma found himself effectively paralyzed. "Ugh. The old freak is tough. This is gonna be real fun." He spent several minutes trying to loosen up and move. "Ummm... HELLOOO... I'M KINDA STUCK HERE..."

Akane eventually came up to the roof to retrieve him. Her attempts to set his joints right felt like they were only doing more damage. "I think your back went out," she said.

"I gotta try this again." Ranma managed to stand and hobbled down the stairs to confront Happosai again.

The old man motioned to the fathers. "They were just telling me something interesting. About the curses of Jusenkyo. They said I would like yours. Let's see it!" It was not a request - he leapt at Ranma again. This time Ranma managed to dodge once before being thrown into the koi pond.

"There," Ranma-chan said. "You like THIS, you old freak?" She posed as if for a cheesecake shot, sliding her shirt off her shoulder to nearly expose a breast.

"WOO HOO! Yeah! I think I'm going to like this!" Suddenly recognition dawned on his face. "Wait a minute... you... you... you're..."

"Come on. You can say it."

"LILAC! My Lilac! It's you!" He leapt to grab Ranma-chan's chest. She batted him away.

"Real convenient, this," she said. "Gives me all sorts of openings. So... I take it you know this body."

"Yes! Oh, how long I've waited for this day! To have my beloved Lilac again!"

On cue, Cologne hopped down into the yard, then onto the porch. "Hello, Happy. Long time no see. Not long enough, either."

Happosai was stopped in his tracks. "Wait... if she's Lilac... then you must be ... lil' Cologne?"

"So glad you remember me. Perhaps you also remember how the curse of Jusenkyo works. Your last visit was less than twenty years ago. And you've been stuck in a cave for ten of those years."

"Of course I remember!" he scowled. Then he began to cry. "So that means that ... my poor Lilac..."

"Is dead. Ranma is now the Lady's host. Which means he is OURS when his business here is done. You can't have him."

Happosai was hopping mad at this. "You can't tell me I can't have him! He's a son of the Anything-Goes School! Which I founded! I have more of a claim on him than you!"

"You can have him, if you can keep him. I trust you know how hard that will be. Show him, Ranma."

"Gladly." She stepped into the living room and adopted a martial stance. The old man moved to counter, so Ranma shifted to a different stance. The two of them began matching stances and starting a series of moves and fake-outs, never connecting.

"Are you guys just going to dance all night?" Akane asked.

"They're anticipating each other," Cologne explained. "Future sight against unpredictable moves. It's more of a mental exercise than a physical one."

The two slowed down, their moves becoming ever more peremptory, ever smaller. Eventually they seemed to be standing still, faces locked in grimaces of concentration.

"At this rate one of them is going to have a stroke," Akane said. She crossed her fingers and hoped it was the old hentai.

"No, just a headache." They both ended up falling over at the same time. "Get the asprin."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"A rival of YOURS?" Usagi gaped.

"Old lecher who has caused trouble in our village since we were both young," Cologne explained. "I would think he's a match for me. I wonder about you, though. Having a weakness like his, you might actually find him easier to deal with than Ranma will."

"We know how to deal with lechers," Rei said. "He couldn't be worse than Grandpa."

"I daresay he's quite a bit worse. Both as a lecher and a master of arts."

"Sorry guys," Usagi held her hands up. "I'm not getting close to any known lechers if I can help it."

They were in Rei's room, doing a normal school study session when Cologne had come over with the news. This had at least mollified them about Ranma's not being in their battles for a while.

"Did Ranma give us anything new?" Makoto asked. "All we know is this Nephrite gets this Black Crystal at some point. Does he know when?"

"Or can he find it before Nephrite does?" Ami asked.

"He can offer nothing just now. All we can say is it will work out for the best."

"That's sounding too much like an ordinary prophet," Makoto said. "If he's going to be tied up for a while, why dosen't he leave us a list of things that are going to happen?"

Cologne eyed a book of the prophecies of Nostradamus on Rei's shelf. She took it down and showed it to the assembled Senshi. "I take it you are all familiar with this man?"

"Didn't he predict a bunch of stuff like 500 years ago?" Usagi asked.

"He wrote in coded poems," Rei said, "to avoid persecution. That's the way it usually is with prophets. They can't see things too clearly, and when they can they can't speak clearly because they would be persecuted by the Church, or kings who don't like what they have to say..."

"Our Lady's hosts have never had much respect for him," Cologne said. "He published his prophecies shortly before he died - he should have seen that coming, and not have been concerned for his own life. And if his prophecies had proven accurate, they could not have been suppressed effectively. People are desperate to know the future - they will follow any charlatan who sounds like he can do it."

"They're always vague because they can't really see the future," Rei said. "They have to fake it and give messages that could mean anything."

"True. If someone gave precise prophecies, they would be at risk of being ignored after their first error. But what if someone wrote a clear book of prophecies that was NEVER wrong?" She now held up Ami's history book. "What if someone dropped a book like this into a European school in the year 1900?"

"Somebody would ace history," Usagi said.

"Or get rich," Makoto offered.

"Or throw it away as a crank," Rei said.

"What they would do," Cologne said, "is think it a curiosity and put it on a shelf for a few years. And when the events it listed as happening in the future after it was found started happening as predicted, people would come back to it and look at it in a new light. And see that the worst war in history would begin with an assassination they could prevent. And when they do that - what next?"

"They keep using the book?" Usagi guessed. Cologne's expression indicated this was the wrong answer.

"Once you prevent the First World War, the whole of history afterward changes. Most of a generation of European manhood does not die, but instead lives to become husbands, fathers, productive citizens. Nothing is the same. The book now describes a history that isn't going to happen. It becomes worthless."

Understanding dawned. "So basically it can only be used once," Usagi said.

"Shaping history through truly accurate prophecy is necessarily interactive. The future the Prophetess sees sometimes changes according to what uncertain people decide, but it ALWAYS is affected by the Prophetess' actions - mostly her decision what to tell people, and when. If someone acts on information she gives, she must work out the future again - and that takes time. If anything alters our timetable at this stage, it might lead to an outcome that can't be recovered from, or it might take too long to see the proper path forward in the new conditions."

"So basically, Ranma's saying we just do what we would have done without him and we've got it in the bag!" Usagi was easy to reassure, but the others caught her enthusiasm.

"As things stand," Cologne finished, "we WILL get the guinzuishou and win this war if we let things follow their course."

She didn't mention, of course, that they had a right to be apprehensive. There was no point describing the pain they would suffer as a result of this proper path to victory. In the end, they would have to be Soldiers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma was used to struggling for control of his life. He knew how these things went. A good starting strategy for him had often been open challenge.

"Hey, old freak!" He interrupted Happosai's breakfast food duel with Soun. "I challenge you to a fight!"

"As you wish." Happosai pulled out a brassiere and held it up. "And if you win, this is your prize."

"What do you take me for, you..."

"Eh? Don't like it? But I spent so much on it!" Happosai sobbed.

"If I win, you leave! Okay?" Naturally, he would not mention implicitly accepting the old man's condition.

"Okay. One word of warning, though... if you don't wear it, they'll sag!" He pointed at Ranma's now-manly chest.

BONK. "Let go of it."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He agreed to fight at Furinkan, in front of Ranma's classmates. "Do even YOU have a chance, Ranma?" Akane asked on the way there. "He stared you down last night. And he did train both our fathers, you know."

"I'll wear him down," Ranma said, walking on top of a chain link fence along the canal. He knew he would not fall in unless pushed.

Happosai arrived late in the day carrying a bag full of ladies' undergarments. "About time you showed!" Ranma said as he leapt to intercept the incoming hentai reaching the yard.

"Oho! Ranma, my boy! What timing! Catch!" Happosai threw the bag at him. He batted it away and chased him around the corner of the school building, catching him off guard as the old man caught his breath.

He gave Happosai a smack to the back of the head. "Freak! Did you come here just to steal underwear or what?"

"Hmm... I did have a reason to come... but I can't seem to remember..."

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to refresh your memory." Ranma cracked his knuckles. "How about THIS, pervert?" He threw a punch to draw him out.

Too slow; suddenly the old man was sitting on his outstretched arm. "Oh, that's right! I came here to fight you!" He dodged several blows and bounced up into the trees. "Come and get me!"

Ranma tried. "Fight me!"

"If you make me one promise! If I win you become a girl and wear this for me?" He had the brassiere with him.

"I said LET IT GO!" A chase ensued, taking them through a number of girls on their way out of school, every skirt getting flipped up.

He was momentarily stopped by Akane. "Just what are you doing?" she asked.

"I just thought I'd enjoy my duel for a bit."

"You call what you're doing a duel?"

"It's Ranma's fault! All he has to do is wear the bra, but NOOO!"

"Did you have to say that out loud?" Ranma caught up and gave Happosai a bonk.

"Why not do it for him, Ranma? It's only a bra!" Akane suggested.

"Are you nuts?" He wouldn't think of it.

"You're just afraid you'll lose," Happosai taunted. "If not... why not agree?"

Ranma held his ground for a moment, conflicted between his pride as a martial artist and as a man. As tended to happen with him, martial arts won. "All right, then. I give you my word."

"For real? You promise? If you trick me, I'll cry!" Happosai was suddenly all over him. Ranma threw him to the ground, hoping to bash the old man's head, but no such luck; he landed easily right side up.

"No need to worry." Happosai suddenly began to release a huge amount of chi, creating an illusion of himself as large as a truck. "Here I come!"

The two remained frozen for several seconds. Ranma tried to move, finding it difficult. A direct chi attack - he had to be able to resist that sort of thing now. He summoned his own chi and forced himself to move. "I... will DIE... before I WEAR THAT!" He broke free and lunged.

"Still able to move after I struck him with my battle aura? I am impressed!" The old man leapt at him again, this time projecting a huge grasping hand. He nearly had Ranma...

Until the girls' track team went by. He disappeared momentarily as they ran on. Ranma and Akane found him, as expected, in the girls' locker room.

"He's no ordinary dirty old man..." Ranma said. "He's an EXTRAORDINARY dirty old man."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Their erstwhile 'training' continued the next day at a public bathhouse. The household tub had sprung a leak, forcing everyone to take their baths elsewhere. It became a contest between Happosai trying to get to the womens' side and Ranma trying to stop him.

Happosai become frustrated with Ranma's success - and his remaining in male form. "Say, Ranma, let me wash your back!"

Ranma smacked him down. "I don't want you behind me!"

"I'm only trying to improve our master-disciple relationship!" he objected.

"You're trying to hit me with cold water from behind. I ain't falling for that!"

"Then how about from the front?" He was sitting on a faucet, which he now used. Ranma was suddenly female, being sprayed with cold water.

That at least got him a visit to the womens' side briefly. Akane and Nabiki were there, in bathing suits. "You think we'd come without swimsuits knowing YOU'RE here?" Nabiki asked.

The bathhouse fights continued like this for several nights, featuring mostly thrown small objects, of which bathhouses had plenty available. Happosai, naturally, claimed it was better for Ranma to be in girl form for this.

"You don't know how to use your powers fully yet, do you?" he said at one point. "Having trouble seeing me?"

"I can see you real well," Ranma said, throwing soap bars at him.

He kept dodging around everything Ranma threw. "Oh, no you don't! Your sight can be clouded by a proper aspect of martial arts. I had to learn that to get around Lilac's guard... I'm just trying to teach you the same so that you can be harder to predict as well!"

Ranma treated this as just an excuse, but later he would see Cologne about it. "There may be something to this," she judged, "but it's also possible that having a high chi level will also allow you to penetrate his clouding. You will have to take what 'training' he offers for the time being, but we will see if we can't simply overpower him."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma ducked out of Happosai's room just before Kasumi could pass by in her cleaning. He didn't want her asking why he was there. Being so innocent was her shining virtue, but in this case it could also be a problem. If, no, WHEN the old geezer came back from his almost-daily neighborhood panty raid, she would naturally tell him if she had seen anyone coming out of his room, and he would know his things had been raided.

Happosai had brought his possessions in the day before. Many of them were books or scrolls with esoteric knowledge, things he obviously wouldn't want his students to know - yet. Ranma had gotten a few glimpses of how important they would be.

He was now headed to the library to photocopy a few scrolls, the most important one being a moxibustion chart. Let the old freak try using the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion. He would have charts wtih the cure stashed all over the city - including with Ami and Rei.

The bracelet he found was a different matter. He had spent much of his projection time last night determining which of the love pills was the lifetime one. The momentary and day pills he left in; they didn't matter. The lifetime one he had now replaced with an asprin.

The cunning and mischevious part of him was sorely tempted to use it to resolve at least one of his problems. Give it to Akane when she was about to be alone with Kuno, perhaps, and they would live happily ever after. Likewise with Ryoga and Kodachi, though it would take longer for the Lost Boy to show up. Or Nabiki and some random boy, just to get her off his back for good. Or even Mousse, if he could find him and catch him in human form, with some random woman; though even if he didn't care if Shampoo was the Lady's host, he would still want it back in his village.

In the end, however, given time to plan far ahead and think about what he was doing, he just couldn't do it to anyone. He valued his freedom, and he didn't like the idea of being mind-controlled in any way. He wouldn't inflict this on anyone else.

He stopped in the bathroom, crushed the pill to powder in his grip, and flushed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Happosai's rampages around town had not gone unnoticed by the neighborhood watch. A representative discussed the matter of the (to them unknown) panty thief and requesting help.

"Leave it to us," Soun said. "The Tendo Martial Arts School will bring the culprit to justi..."

They were distracted by a dark shape flying by outside the door with a bag full of women's underwear in tow. "Did something just go by...?" the representative asked.

"You must have imagined it," Soun said.

"Anyway, I don't know if it can be used as a lead, but we do have a few photos of the crime scenes." He produced several pictures of Happosai in action, some obviously posed.

Ranma and Akane arrived home from school at that pint. Ranma examined the pictures for himself. "Looks more like proof to me," he said. "You know, you guys were his students too. I think it's time you did your part in stopping him."

Soun feigned illness. Ranma could do little about him, but he had more moral authority over his own father. He had to convince him to stop being a panda long enough to stand up to Happosai. He shoved the panda before their master. "Pop wants to have a word with you," he said.

Happosai was patient. "What is it Genma?"

[Um... uh... hello master?]

"For this you interrupted my meditations? I'm a busy man!"

[I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU LOOKING WELL, MASTER!]

Ranma started making his own signs to put in his father's hands. [YOU LECHEROUS OLD FART!] [I, GENMA SAOTOME, WILL BRING YOU TO YOUR STUPID, PERVERTED KNEES!]

It worked. "How dare you speak that way to your master!" He gave the panda a bonk.

"C'mon Pop! Show the old man your fists of justice!" Ranma encouraged.

[I DON'T WANNA!]

Well, if he was good for nothing else... Ranma simply threw the panda at the old man. Happosai threw him through the roof with his pipe.

Ranma wasn't finished. During the hang time he changed to girl form and tried to show some cleavage. This moved the elderly hentai just enough to be hit by Genma's landing. That allowed most of his recently stolen underwear to be recovered. The fathers merely groveled before Happosai.

"Shouldn't one more person be bowing before me...?" He gave a hard look at Ranma.

After some 'encouragement' from his father, he decided the panda would remain useless. "I DON'T BOW TO NOBODY!" He smashed the panda through the roof.

It looked like he would be staying at Ucchan's for a couple of days...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A few days later some herbs arrived through Cologne. This had actually been Cologne's suggestion: an herb that, when warmed by human body heat, produced an odor that women, but not men, found repellent. She claimed there was a similar herb for repelling men, which her village had used in battles to great effect - apparently a discovery of one of Ranma's predecessors as the Lady's host.

Ranma had a nagging feeling he should have been the one to bring it back from China with him, but as long as he had it, he it didn't matter. He approached Kasumi to do some sewing, knowing Nabiki had no skills.

"I'll do it!" Akane offered when he explained what needed to be done. "Besides, I want to sew something."

"Well, why don't we let her, Ranma?" Kasumi insisted. Ranma found he could not go against her suggestions. And he just didn't feel right involving her in his plans.

It was effective; not only against the women of the neighborhood, but Ranma-chan as well. He had a gas mask available for this contingency. This did, however, have a bonus: it created more chances for Ranma to deal with Happosai leaping at him rather than him having to chase the hentai around the neighborhood. These chances were necessary for learning Happosai's own trick of throwing an opponent with a pipe, fan, or chopsticks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The campaign against Happosai came to a turning point when the fathers finally got the will to stand up to him. Soun donned his armor, Genma changed to panda, and together they set out to confront the hentai in the shopping district. "Happosai, the source of all this evil... now he shall be brought to justice! Now is the time to take revenge for all he has done to us!"

[NEVER AGAIN SHALL WE BOW TO HIM]

"Live or die, we fight together!"

One of Nabiki's friends stared at them as they marched through the streets. "Say, Nabiki, isn't that guy in armor your father?"

"Never seen him before," Nabiki said, trying not to look at him.

Happosai landed on Soun's helmet after a throw by Ranma. Genma attacked at once. Ranma was quickly on the scene to follow up.

Happosai remained focused on his ongoing fight with Ranma. "That did it! Now you're going to pay!"

"Come and get me! I'm no teddy bear like my old man!"

The three of them smashed into the old man ruthlessly. "For an evil spirit such as this, there can be no mercy!" Soun yelled.

They pummeled him until he was a shapeless pile in the street, but he was not to bee undone by mere physical blows. His aura erupted again, soaring to new levels.

Soun and Genma, who knew something of their Master's aura, were not impressed. "This battle aura is nothing!" Soun said.

Unfortunately, his battle armor made him to heavy to run away. Happosai knocked him down and turned to Genma. "You really are pitiful," Akane said to her father as he lay injured.

Ranma was ready to face aura combat again. He had been working up his own chi level to try to create an aura to compete. "I'm not afraid of you!" He started to concentrate.

His father didn't let him finish. [I, TOO, HAVE MY PRIDE!] He raised his own aura.

Ranma recovered to see two giant images growing over the neighborhood. Well. if his Pop could do this, then they would at least see if it worked. He watched as the two prepared to fight true aura combat.

No blows were exchanged. The two auras grew to gigantic size, then the panda suddenly shrank away. "After all this time you still haven't passed him!" Ranma demanded. Then he noticed Happosai, also drained in the street.

"They're both drained..." Akane said.

Ranma quickly looked around for cold water. Unfortunately, none was at hand. By the time they got home and he could change, Happosai had recovered. His interference in Ranma-chan's Sight did seem a bit less, though.

*Ah ha. So maybe we can beat this thing...*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Luna was nervous at being in the Nekohanten, but Cologne was reassuring. "We don't cook cats here. Or any stray animals. and we keep a pot of warm water in case anything looking too intelligent comes in."

"That's not all that's making me nervous," the mooncat said. "Becoming a human ..."

"The water charged by the dust will only be good for a few hours. Plenty of time to get what we need. The rest of you will also have to go through this. It may help us greatly."

"Gee, Luna, now you get to know what it feels like!" Usagi was excited. "I wonder what you'll look like."

"I'm sure she'll be pretty," Makoto said.

The Senshi were all hushed Cologne dumped the packet of dust in a child's bathing tub of cool water. Shampoo had taken one of her spare sets of silk clothes from a closet, and was now putting tight rubber gloves on her hands. A squirrel's paws wouldn't be able to reach the necessary shiatsu points.

Luna closed her eyes and leapt into the tub. The Senshi gasped as a fair-looking young woman emerged, like Venus from a seashell. She had long black hair with four odangoes, pale skin, and a Western appearance.

She shivvered, tottered on unfamiliar feet for a moment, then took the clothes Shampoo handed her and began to dress. "This feels... not strange at all," she said. "Somehow, it feels... natural."

"Such are the curses of Jusenkyo," Cologne said. "The cursed form is as comfortable as the normal one; those who fall in springs of four-legged animals can walk and trot as the animals do. One who fell in the Spring of Drowned Octopus had no trouble using his eight arms."

"Octopus?" Ami sounded like her sensibilites had been offended. "But they breathe water! Aren't these springs supposed to be of DROWNING victims?"

"Salt water species," Cologne said. "Poisoned, or perhaps suffocated, in fresh water. As long as they died in the spring, the magic seems to take an imprint. There's a spring we call the Chimera, where a group of animals including an eel imprinted. Yeti, ox, crane, and eel. They all make up part of the same cursed form."

"Wow," Usagi said. "How did they all go in at once?"

"Long story. Let's get to work for now..."

Luna sat in a chair as Shampoo applied her herbal shampoo and started her massage. "It may not all come to her at once, you understand," Cologne warned. "Some things will come immediately, but you should get all you're going to by the end of the day. Best you get a good night's rest and everything will be clear in the morning."

"What about Mamoru?" Rei asked. "We have to get him too, don't we?"

"We've made an appointment with him after all of you are done. I wouldn't recommend meeting with him until tomorrow to be sure. He does know there are deep memories he needs dug up. He's willing to try this sort of thing."

One by one they submitted to Shampoo's expert care. They all left a bit woozy. "I feel strange," Makoto said. "Like I'm two people."

"We'd better get back home," Rei said. "Give this thing time to work."

They would all wake up crying in the night. Even Luna.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

*I wish I had been the squirrel,* Nabiki thought. *Wolves aren't exactly common around here.* She envied Shampoo's ability to spy anywhere in the city unsuspected, even if she never used her cursed form that way.

Akane had once again become a duck to spy on Ranma. She was currently swimming in the nearby lake with some other ducks. Nabiki, on the other hand, had come in human form; she would never have gotten into the park in midday as a wolf. She resorted to her time-tested spying methods, wearing Akane's clothes as she sat a discreet distance away on a park bench.

Ranma-chan seemed to be doing the same. The target of her attentions sat on yet another bench further around the lake. Nabiki recognized the girl with the ridiculous hairstyle as one of the sailor girls Ranma sometimes met with at the Hikawa shrine or near the Nekohanten. She wondered why Ranma wasn't just walking up to her now.

She got up off her bench and headed around the park, going off the paved walkway around behind Ranma and the girl. The girl did not notice Nabiki plant a recorder in the bushes behind her before heading back to her bench.

She sat down just as a tall young man appeared. From the girl's reaction, they knew each other. It looked like a very awkward meeting. Like they hadn't seen each other in... a lifetime, maybe.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi sat on the bench nervously trying to remember her own name. Who was she anymore? Usagi? Serenity? Was there any difference? SHOULD there be?

*Past lives can be so confusing,* she thought. *I'll have to see how everyone else is taking it later.*

He walked up, still handsome as ever. Her heart skipped a beat. What to call him? she had to ask point blank. "Have you...? Are you...?" The words caught in her throat.

"Serenity?" No annoyance or contempt; love, tenderness, attraction instead. He knew.

"Endymion?" she broke out into tears. She rushed to him, held him. To be apart for so long... and now...

They stayed there for what seemed like hours, holding each other. They held their heads down, then up, looking into each others' eyes, vision blurred by tears. They closed their eyes and shared a deep lovers' kiss.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nabiki could not resist. She gave up the stealth act and walked right up behind Ranma-chan. "You could stand to take lessons from them, Ranma."

"I'll never be that good," she said. No surprise at Nabiki's voice.

"I can't hide from you, can I?"

"Even as a guy I would have sensed you. Martial artists need to know what's going on around them. By the way, you should help Akane." She pointed to a commotion among the ducks in the lake.

"What is she doing? That girl gets into trouble with everyone she meets."

"I think those ducks are guys..."

Nabiki sweatdropped. "She just can't keep them off her whatever she is..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma returned to Juuban that evening to meet with the Senshi. They were ready to come to terms with the past.

Mamoru was there as well. He and Usagi sat close together, holding hands. It was like night and day with them: from being strangers who annoyed each other, to the closest of lovers.

"I didn't get anything out of it, myself," Ranma-chan said. "I may... host... Pluto, but I wasn't really reincarnated from her. I don't have her past life to remember. What about you guys?"

They all looked at Usagi. "We remember a lot," she said. "Not everything, but a lot. Court intrigues, training, fighting. You wre right, I was a princess. Not a spoiled type..." - she must have known what everyone thought of her now - "but full of grace and caring. The other Senshi... I don't think were all that different than they are now. They were court ladies, attended balls, that sort of thing."

"We don't remember anything about you or the Outers," Ami said. "I think they didn't usually come to Court. We never even *heard* of Pluto before - I think she was so top secret even *we* weren't allowed to know."

Ranma nodded. "The other Outers, Uranus and Neptune, I think are supposed to protect the Solar System from outside invasion - but they didn't respond to a direct attack from the Earth?"

"No," Rei said. "It wasn't their duty."

"A poor definition of their duties," Cologne said. "If they were distracted by an invader, possibly I could see it. We will have to see if the Dark Kingdom made any allies from outside. But if not, their greater duty should have been to protect the Kingdom from whatever threats materialize."

Ranma agreed. "I'm a bit worried about the last planet, Saturn. I can't see far enough to see her getting involved in this fight, so I can't find where she is. Maybe she isn't in the Tokyo area. Do any of you remember a Sailor Saturn?"

None of them did. They decided to let that matter wait. Perhaps Uranus or Neptune would remember something when they got shampoo'ed.

"Luna also gave us this," Usagi said, pulling something out of her bag. It was a short wand with a large crescent on it, mounted off-center to look like a crescent moon when the handle was held vertically. "She said it could break some enchantments. Mind control, and transformations, if some innocent person got taken over."

Ranma-chan reached out to it and touched it. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to see it in use. She saw the solution to a lot of problems in Nerima as well as their battles with the Dark Kingdom lay in it. "Yes. The Dark Kingdom will use those tactics. This is really important."

"I think this is going to help a lot," Makoto said. "With Mamoru as a full-time member, it's like fighting with a full team."

"The full team will include Venus," Ranma reminded them. "We can't move up her family schedule. She's stuck in England until they move back to Japan. I don't think we can mount a full attack until then."

"And you may want more complete training," Cologne adivised. "Ranma sees himself gaining strength all the way up to the latest possible date for a final battle."

"I want all the strength I can get..." *If only I dodn't have to deal with perverts to get it...*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next day Ranma was at school in Phys Ed class when Soun leapt in his face. "Ranma! It's a dojo destroyer!"

Genma, in panda form, came up behind him. He handed Ranma a letter. Akane came over from the girls' side of the field to read over Ranma's shoulder.

"I'll be back this Saturday," Ranma read.

"If you win, I'll return your sign," Akane finished.

"Do you want to take him alone?" Ranma said.

Soun wouldn't hear of it. He grabbed their shoulders and faced them to each other. "Both branches of the Anything-Goes School should stand together! After all, that will be YOUR sign to defend someday."

"I think we'll have to go through several signs before then."

An unwelcome voice came from nearby. "Fair Akane. I bid your family greetings."

Akane developed a red battle aura. Arms held at her sides, fists balled. "Kuno! You... you DARE show your face to me!" She exploded at him, hammering him with blows from all sides, but he deflected all with his bokken, retreating as needed.

"Peace, Akane Tendo," he said cooly, even as the onslaught continued. "I come with an offer."

"After what you did to me? To my SISTERS? We don't want anything from you!" She renewed her assault.

"I admit I was... hasty in my choice of strategy. But what I have inadvertently done can now be undone."

Akane paused, ready to continue. "You got more water from China?"

"More or less." He produced a Jusenkyo Spring Products catalogue from his robe, opened to the page listing Instant Spring packets. "I have acquired some packets of dust from the Springs of Drowned Girl and Boy. They would make ordinary water like as to their Springs."

"So we can have our curses lifted...?" Akane relaxed. "All of us...?"

Soun leapt on Kuno, knocking him flat. He grabbed the boy's robe and shook him, getting in his face. "WHERE! Give them to us! Save my daughters!"

"Dad! You're choking him!" Akane pulled her father away.

Nabiki now ran up. "What's this about a cure? You've got something, Kuno?"

Kuno recovered his dignity. "Indeed. I would offer it to the Tendo family... for a favor."

There could be no mistaking what favor he would want. Soun tearfully shoved his youngest daughter forward. "I give you my permission to marry her."

"DAD!"

"Akane! Though hit breaks my heart, you must be strong! Become a WOMAN! Think of you sisters!"

Kuno was overwhelmed. "I am flattered, good sir, but I would not impose marriage at this time."

"You're not?" Eyes went wide all around.

"Whatever you may think of me, I am first and foremost a gentleman. I would ask only a date with her."

Nabiki added her hand to Akane's back. "Do it, sis. I'll clear half your debts."

"NABIKI!" Akane raged.

"Only half?" Ranma asked. "You got bargaining power, Akane! Go for all of it."

Nabiki shot Ranma an annoyed glance. "Seventy-five. Final offer."

"I'd sooner die!" Akane threatened.

"How does Sunday sound?" Ranma suggested over Akane's protests. "We have a challenge fight on Saturday."

"Done!" Kuno said. "I shall have small pools prepared for boys and girls."

Nabiki drew Ranma aside. "Can we get Shampoo to invade the grounds and steal that packet?"

Ranma knew what Shampoo would say to that. "I'll ask..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"The answer's STILL no!" Akane grumbled on the way home.

"Come on, Sis! It's just one date!"

"Why don't we all just take a dip in the pool with him and then YOU can eat him?"

"She'd blow up," Ranma said. "Curses are broken by death. She'd have a man bigger than she is in her stomach..."

That turned both sisters green until they got home. Once there, and sufficiently calmed to eat dinner, they explained the offer to Kasumi. Everyone knew Akane wouldn't refuse after encouragement from her.

Everyone was right. "Akane..." the eldest sister said, "sometimes we have to just swallow our pride and do what's right. And I know if he tries anything too forward you can just deck him."

Akane still looked disgusted at the prospect of entertaining Kuno. "Alright. Just this once. And we NEVER speak of it again."

Ranma now turned to her. "Don't worry, Akane. All of you. I PROMISE next Sunday your curses will be cured forever..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Last idea for a while...

I've been fascinated for some years by an idea for a world setting to explore, suitable for a lot of high-school themed anime, and perhaps older sets as well. Basically, it's a world where humans are fertile for five-year windows separated by generation-long barren periods, fifteen to thirty years. Thus, for a twenty- year barren period, all human children born in the 20th Century would have been born, say, 1900-05, 1925-30, 1950-55, 1975-80. Outside of these five-year breeding seasons, no one feels sexual urges.

The idea is to create a world with narrow, sharply-defined generations, which greatly simplifies how older generations manage younger people. Men would likely be expected to wait out their first five-year breeding season, satisfying themselves with brothel women. Girls, even 14-year-olds in the lower-end case of a 15-year barren period, will be mostly married before the season begins; there will seem to be no choice, their parents MUST accept them as adults. For a serious exploration of concept, a 20 or 25 year barren period will do,ensuring everyone is old enough to have minimal skills and character development for parenting and any shortcomings in their children have fewer excuses. For anime settings, the fifteen-year barren period is more intriguing, but to do it properly - girls looking to marry same-season boys - it might require a major war.

My reasoning: We should expect second- and third-season men have priority in choosing wives, while women, by and large, are expected to only get one breeding season, so they MUST produce, ready or not. Thus the historical norm, and preference, will be for first-season wives married to second- or third-season husbands, whom they expect to outlive, giving them independence later in life. Over time, however, avoidance of marriage and responsibility becomes more than just a preference for first-season men: they will at some point get virtually locked out of the marriage market. A World War One-type slaughter will be needed to break the lockout, removing a generation of men so that the next breeding season afterward, there aren't enough older men to go around and the first- season women must marry same-aged men. This sets up a high school situation where the girls are looking for marriage among boys who require some convincing.

Of course, one could postulate any length seasons, such as a 6-and-18 or 7-and-21 pattern; whatever you're comfortable with.


	13. Important Dates

Chapter 13: Important Dates

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The hardest section to write so far. The scene at the end is one I've been wanting to do for years, but figuring out how to start it is tricky.

Also finding how hard it can be to write a character who cannot be surprised - I've noticed how big a factor surprise is in the manga.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nabiki tried not to look too suspicious as she searched the street. Given the timing, she could be forgiven for not being able to do a very good job.

She walked up to the outside wall of the Kuno estate, seeing no one around. The coast was clear, as it should be at this time of night. She took off her shoes, undid the front of her raincoat, and dumped the bottle of water over her head.

As a wolf she could leap high enough to land on top of the wall. Down into the bushes, slowly and silently creep through the gardens, up to the house...

"Here, doggy, doggy..." a voice called. She turned to the shadows where the sound came from. "Doggy want some food?"

She tried to ignore the voice. Doggy treats came out of the shadows, landing on the sidewalk a few paces away. She continued on to the house.

"Oh, wait..." the voice said. "Is this a wolf? What did the Young Master say I should use if one of those comes around... Ah. Here, wolfy, wolfy..." Some ten-thousand yen bills landed on the ground near the doggy treats.

Minutes later Nabiki was being placed outside the front gate by the house ninja, Sasuke. "Nice wolfy. Go on, go back to your pack..."

Nabiki cursed herself. Perhaps she could make a deal with Kodachi...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi was puzzled by the letter she found in the letter slot of her front door that morning. "What? From Tuxedo Mask? Why would he send a letter when he can just call?"

In her room, she read the letter out loud to Luna. The mooncat, suspicious by nature, immediately suspected a trap. "Mamoru wouldn't need to send a letter like this. We need to call him."

They did. "It's a fake," he said instantly. "I know I haven't sent you any letters yet. And now I wouldn't have to address them as Tuxedo Mask. This has to be a trap. Contact the other Senshi and Cologne. Pluto, if you can get through. We need to think about how to handle this."

Not only were they unable to get through to Ranma, they couldn't even get Cologne. "This is ridiculous!" Usagi said. "Just when we need them most, they can't show up? What good are they?"

"They did say we had to learn to work on our own," Makoto said over the communicator. "Maybe whatever we decide now will be the right choice."

Ami's voice then came through. "I got a letter from Tuxedo Mask as well. It said the same thing. I wonder if it's a mass mailing."

"It could be," Mamoru conceded. "We should call Naru and anyone else you know at school."

Naru had indeed gotten a letter from 'Tuxedo Mask'. So had every other girl in school, it seemed. All asked Sailor Moon to come to Masato Sanjoin's department store in Shinjuku the next night.

Mamoru puzzled over this. "I think we may have stolen a march on the enemy," he said finally. "They don't know who any of us are, so they have to lure us out. They don't have spies around us, or they would know who you are without having to do something like this. They don't know that we know who we really are, or were, and that I have made contact with you, so they think they can use my name to lure you out."

"But what do we DO?" Usagi asked.

"Spring the trap," Rei said.

"We go in full force," Makoto said.

Ami was more cautious. "We need to know more," she said. "We need a good plan ..."

"I'm going in!" Usagi said. "I won't see these jerks tarnish the name of Tuxedo Mask!"

Mamoru was eventually convinced to allow it. The Senshi discussed strategy for an hour before getting to more mundane things like homework. Usagi swore that if anything bad happened she would march into Nerima and give Ranma a piece of her mind.

Luna advised against that. "You have so few to pieces to spare..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So... do you know where it is?" Nabiki asked.

"Where what is?" Kodachi asked.

"Don't play games. We need the Instant Nyannicuan powder. I would have thought you could get to it."

"Instant what? I haven't heard of any such thing coming into the household. If Sasuke has been lying to me again..."

"I take it, then, that your brother has more control over him than you do. So you honestly don't know?"

"My dear, you will have to speak plainly if you want to succeed in business. What, precisely, does this powder do?"

Nabiki grated at being schooled on business principles by this flake. "It would cure our curses. It turns ordinary water into Spring of Drowned Girl water."

"You are sure of this? Cured? Completely?"

"That's what he says. I guess he couldn't trust you with this until Sunday..."

"So that was why he suggested I visit a friend out of town..." Kodachi chuckled. "Well, knowing him, it being something rather important, it probably won't be held on the grounds, lest I get to it first. I will have to check our country home and some of our holdings in the city, but he may have... unofficial friends."

"Gotcha. I'll keep an eye out and we can all be rid of this without Akane having to go on a date with him."

"Is that how he convinced her? He's been absolutely insufferable the last few days, going on about how he was finally about to claim her lips."

"If he tries, he'll end up in the hospital."

"Oh, I don't think your brutish sister will actually be able to harm him. He does hold back against her, after all."

Nabiki shook her head. "Somehow, I just know all this will end in disaster..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, and Makoto gathered around the department store that evening. Rei had come down with a sudden flu; she was willing to go, wearing a filter mask, but the others had insisted she rest up. They knew Nephrite wouldn't be defeated tonight, but they could give him a nasty surprise.

They hadn't counted on Naru. When Usagi entered the department store, she found Nephrite already draining Naru's energy. She quickly ducked behind a wall and called the others. "Everyone! Naru's here and Nephrite's already draining her! We gotta go NOW!" She clicked off her communicator before anyone could advise her not to jump in hastily.

She transformed and appeared before Nephrite. Without Ranma or Cologne to ride herd on them, she couldn't help but indulge in grandstanding. "Let Naru go!"

"Who - ?"

"A youma who plays around with young girls' hearts dosen't deserve to wear a tuxedo!" Sailor Moon said.

"Then you are -"

Sailor Moon couldn't help but give her patented speech. She told herself she was at least delaying him until the others could arrive. "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

"How did you know I wasn't the Masked Tuxedo?"

"The intuition of a girl in love!" she said. She wasn't going to give away that they were working openly together now. "Sailor Moon Kick!" She tried a flying kick at Nephrite's head, which he narrowly ducked. The kick took off his top hat.

Nephrite flung Naru's limp body at Sailor Moon as a distration. "Here, catch!" He levitated and doffed the tuxedo, revealing his usual general's uniform.

"You're Sanjoin Masato!"

"I am Nephrite, one of the four lords of the Dark Kingdom! I took the name of Masked Tuxedo to lure you here." He gestured, casting a mirror-imaging spell. Suddenly there were a dozen of him around the store. "Leo's star Regulus, shining in the southern sky -"

"SHABON SPRAY!" Suddenly the store was fogged. A thrown rose interrupted Nephrite's chant and dispelled his images. A cry of "SUPREME THUNDER!" warned of a lightning bolt that caught him full in the back.

Sailor Moon charged up her tiara. "MOON TIARA ACTION!" She sent it flying at Nephrite, who frustratingly disappeared.

The group gathered to check Naru. "She needs to get to a hospital," Mercury said.

"Dammit!" Jupiter swore. "If only Rei were here..."

"No," Tuxedo Mask said. "We can hold our own, but we can't defeat him yet. Even if Ranma can tell us that he will just disappear like that, we can't do much to stop him. We need something more..."

Once again, they had to wonder what Ranma was doing, and when he would be free.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite was gloating. After Nephrite's boast that he would kill Sailor Moon, he expected to see his rival eliminated, as Jadeite had been. "Queen Beryl, Nephrite boasted that he would destroy Sailor Moon. Yet he failed. He deserves Eternal Sleep."

He was to be disappointed. "The energy Nephrite brought back was quite powerful. You will not be punished this time," she said to the general in question.

"But -" Zoicite was at a loss. Nephrite deserved punishment, he knew. How could Beryl forgive him like this?

Beryl, of course, knew all too well of her generals' ambitions. Keeping them at each others' throats was an art she was much practiced in. "Punishment can be done any time. Zoicite, if you have time to worry about his business, look harder for the guinzuishou!"

Zoicite left, suddenly fearful of Beryl's wrath. Nephrite smiled and headed off to his own business. He might yet turn this around and defeat the Senshi.

He was not clear of interference from rivals yet. Another one, tanned and dark-haired, was waiting in his mansion. "Congratulations on walking away from another meeting with the Queen."

Nephrite gave a low chuckle. "Enjoying your promotion? You shouldn't get too comfortable, Magnetite. Beryl can be very demanding."

"I was just noticing your troubles with the Sailor Senshi... and with Zoicite. He thought you would meet Jadeite's fate because you were not doing anything differently from him. But now you had an excellent plan... and the Senshi were still able to deal with it. Too able, in fact. As if they knew your plans."

"Are you accusing me of treason? Of collaborating with them?" He charged a hand with energy, ready to fire a blast.

"Not at all. I find it impossible to believe you would be that stupid. Or that we would have a leak somewhere. The Senshi are developing faster than we thought. We know too little about them. They seem to have resources we cannot guess. I think they are showing themselves a larger problem than any one of us can deal with alone."

"Ah. You want a piece of the credit for defeating them. I assure you, I can deal with them on my own. I advise you to go back to your artifacts. You know little of humans and how to fight them."

Magnetite teleported away unceremoniously to his chambers. *I doubt you know as much as you think you do,* he thought. *And Zoicite knows little more. I should expect soon I shall have only Kunzite to deal with, and then we will see who is the last man standing...*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I said NO, dad! I don't want you to help me! Ranma either!" Akane stood ready to fight for the family dojo. She steeled herself for a hard battle.

The rest of the Tendo and Saotome families were sitting on the sidelines, Ranma seemingly unconcerned, as if he felt his assistance wouldn't be needed. Genma wasn't worried. "He will be there when Akane falls."

"I won't fall!" Akane insisted.

"I say she lasts ninety seconds," Ranma said.

"I say sixty," Soun said.

"DAD!" Akane should have known by now her father's loyalty only went so far.

The dojo destroyer that had defeated him earlier that week was a mountain of a man, nearly seven feet tall, looking to be four hundred pounds of pure muscle. He wore a chain of dojo signs around his neck, and carried more in his massive hands. Thus far, he had said not a word.

The only notable absence was Happosai. He had gone on his daily panty raid, having mentioned that he had been a dojo destroyer once, and it wasn't as glamorous at it sounded.

"Father, are you sure?" Kasumi asked. "Akane may need some help..."

Soun knew better. "Once Akane makes up her mind, there's no talking her out of it."

Akane led off with a charge. The Dojo Destroyer countered by taking off his necklace of signs and handling them like a whip.

"He won't sacare ME!" Akane said as she tried to get inside the guard offered by the whipping signs. She dodged, leapt, and found herself encircled by the signs, keeping them from smashing into her from either side by balling up and bracing her elbows against her knees. She landed and prepared to strike again.

"This guy is good," she thought. She started toward him as he flung the signs outward again, modifying her charge into a cartwheel. He threw unchained signs at her, sending them sticking into the wall.

These provided convenient jumping points. Akane took advantage and did a flying leap, leading with her fist to smash the sign the destroyer held up as a shield. This softened the blow, and she now fell back for another try.

Several signs fell to her attacks. Finally the destroyer held the stolen Tendo sign up as a shield. Akane found she could not bring herself to destroy that one. The destroyer switched from defense to offense, swatting Akane down.

She was unfazed. "You call that a blow?"

"She should've seen that coming," Ranma muttered.

"And what would YOU have done?" Nabiki ribbed.

"Smashed it," Ranma said. "Make him pay for the replacement."

The destroyer now had Akane pinned to the wall with signs. He flung one last at her for the knockout blow. Soun stood up. "I can't sit back and watch any longer! RANMA! GET IN THERE!" He grabbed Ranma and threw him in the path of the projectile.

Ranma blocked it with his head. He looked around first at Akane, then Soun, then back to Akane. He flicked the sign away from his skull, where it had left a lump. "Heh. Knew it. Our pops have no patience." He took off his jacket and started helping her down. "I don't suppose you've done any training in the Amaguriken...?"

"I don't need any of that fancy stuff you do."

Ranma didn't press the point. He had seen other situations Akane would be in over the next year where special moves would be necessary to getting out of a jam. Sooner or later she would have to see that his 'fancy stuff' was worth her time.

"You can take offense, I'll take defense," he said. "Whenever you're ready..."

The first time they tried it she got clumsily in his way. After that Ranma was able to avoid her as he intercepted the signs being thrown at her. Akane hammered the man-mountain with a series of indiscriminate blows. He shrugged them off and renewed his attack.

"You DO know where his vital spots are, don't you!" Ranma asked as they dodged.

"He has TOO MANY SPOTS!" Akane replied.

Ranma grabbed several signs sticking out of the wall and threw them back at the destroyer. He simply absorbed the hits and grabbed them for a return volley.

"Change of plan," Ranma said. "I'll draw his fire, you get inside and hit."

"Okay!" This Akane knew she could do.

Of course, the destroyer had other plans. Having seen Akane was slower to dodge he continued to focus fire on her. He soon had her pinned to the wall again.

This came at the expense of his defense. Ranma seemed to have forgotten about drawing fire as he dodged in close and hammered every vital spot on his opponent's massive frame. The dojo destroyer stood covered in bruises for a second, them fell heavily to the floor.

The family on the sideline clapped. Akane reminded them of her situation. "Is anybody going to get me down from here?"

Ranma took out enough signs to let her down. Akane wasn't about to forgive him so easy. "What happened to drawing his fire while I got the finishing blows?"

"We're called the Anything-Goes School for a reason," he said. "But don't celebrate yet. Now comes Round Two..."

"ROUND TWO!" they all gulped. Sure enough, the dojo destroyer was getting back up.

"Well, Akane," Ranma said. "Now all his vital spots are marked..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane winced as she re-bandaged her wrists. That dojo destroyer had been harder than the stacks of bricks she broke in practice. Doctor Tofu had advised not hitting anything for at least a day.

Unfortunately, she was scheduled to spend the next day with one of the people in Nerima most in need of hitting. "So what if I can't hit him?" she asked. "How am I supposed to keep his paws off me?"

Kasumi handed her a mallet. "How about this?"

Akane hefted the mallet, testing its weight. "A bit small..."

"You'll want to hide it under your clothes," Nabiki said. "And wear a bathing suit under them as well. We will be." She indicated herself and Kasumi.

"If only I didn't have to do this..."

"We aren't going to know where that packet is until the end of the date," Kasumi said.

"So we ask the guy who knows where we're going to end up..." Akane said.

They headed to the kitchen to get some water before looking for Ranma in the dojo. He was already gone. He had, however, left a note: "Happosai has it. -R" There was a smiley face with a tongue sticking out after the R.

They all sweatdropped. Akane crumpled the note in her fist. "Ranma, this is not the time for sarcasm..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kodachi settled herself into the specially prepared bath. She held her breath, submerged, shook herself, and came up to look in the mirror.

Black, glorious black. Red had never been her color; she was much more comfortable in black paint. Every feather now glistened with the new color. She would now draw no attention flying around Tokyo. Unless you looked directly at her for a while you would not notice she was not an ordinary blackbird.

She hopped out and walked in front of a fan, drying herself. A few minutes later she took wing out the window and headed for the Tendo household. She should have no trouble following her brother about the city. Once she knew where that packet was, she would never have to deal with feathers again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Akane! He's here!" Kasumi announced.

The moment of truth. Akane went to the door as if marching to her execution. She had chosen the plainest outfit she could, trying to pretend it was an ordinary day, an outing with a friend. It wasn't working. A friend wouldn't try to kiss her or prattle on endlessly with bad poetry.

Kuno was there in formal-looking suit, carrying roses, hopefully not grown by his sister - there was no telling what effects hers might have when sniffed. He beamed a smile and opened the pleasantries. "Akane! You look radiant! These roses do not compare to your beauty -"

"Let's go," Akane said, wanting to blitz the town and be done with it. She grabbed Kuno by the arm and dragged him out to the street.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nabiki entered the train five cars back from Akane and Kuno. She hoped her distance had been discreet enough. Surely Kuno had to know she was trailing them, but she didn't know anyone else remotely capable of it. She hoped he would be paying too much attention to Akane to notice her nearby.

She had been unable to wheedle an itinerary out of him. Perhaps he was just going to wing it for the day. She almost envied Akane; for any other girl, a date backed by Kuno's money would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even for herself, it would be unusual enough to remember.

She checked the train's stops. One of them was near an amusement park. A good place to start. From there she guessed they might go bowling, then walking in a park, eating dinner, and finally the demand for a kiss. And then the revelation of where the packet was.

For the tenth time she cursed Ranma for not cooperating. He would have seen that far ahead and they could shortcut this whole day. She burned with a desire to know where he was at the moment. He was just being so selfish! So what if the packets wouldn't cure him! He had to start learning to think of more than his own problems. There were people depending on him for their cures.

Idly, she wondered who could teach him to be less self-centered. Maybe Akane? Now there was a strange thought. Perhaps her fists could get through where everything else failed...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kasumi looked through the clothing on display and tried not to look suspicious. She knew she wasn't succeeding, because she was too nervous. But she had a right to be nervous. She had always tried to be polite and considerate. There was little that was less polite or considerate than spying on someone.

She shot a glance at the roof. Still there. Ranma-chan looked like she was waiting for someone or something. It was a stroke of luck for Kasumi that Ranma had decided to do it here, near the shopping district, where she could pretend to be doing something she normally did. If Ranma had been waiting on a residential roof, she would have probably ended up making neighbors think she was going mad, wandering pointlessly in circles.

Happosai, she realized. Ranma would be waiting for Happosai to make his daily rounds. She must have seen the old man woould pass by here and taken up station to intercept him. That relaxed her a bit. Ranma was just trying to be helpful.

Well, he could be more helpful. He could just get that packet with their cures right now. Maybe he would do that after dealing with Happosai.

She moved on to the next store. Hopefully she would be able to notice if, and when, he moved.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shampoo mounted her bike and headed out for her delivery. She had heard that the boy responsible for her curse, Tatewaki Kuno, would be out on a date with Akane today. She thought she recalled there was some bad blood between them. What would he have done to convince her to go? She hadn't had time to ask the Tendos.

Idly, she thought of slipping on to the Kuno estate an finishing him off. The Kuno gardens had to have their share of squirrels, wouldn't they? No one would be the wiser. But Great-Grandmother had forbidden any retaliation. She put her thoughts of revenge away.

This delivery was quite a ways away anyhow. All the way in Juuban. She pedaled as fast as she could. Perhaps she would run into a youma! That would relieve her stress.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Soun and Genma were closing in on the Kuno estate. Genma was in panda form; he didn't expect to be much longer. Somewhere in this estate should be a packet of Instant Spring of Drowned Man water Kuno was reserving for himself to be there. Naturally they didn't trust him to allow them to use the artificial pool he would make. They had to get that packet for themselves.

"Careful, Saotome," Soun said. "They have a ninja. Watch the bushes."

They were right to be suspicious of the bushes, but not because anything was hiding in them. Soun began to feel faint as they passed some rare black roses. Genma caught him and held his own breath as he dragged him to the house. Some kind of knockout gas, he realized. He renewed his vigilance for traps.

He checked the kitchen for signs of a packet labelled "Spring of Drowned Man." No luck. He was about to start tearing the place apart when something poked him in the ear. He turned around to see a ninja hanging from the ceiling.

"If you're looking for the master's packets, he left them with friends at the school," the small man said. "They should be waiting there."

The panda left with his companion slung over his shoulder. Sasuke wondered how long it would take them to get back after finding no one at the school. Perhaps they would tear the place apart all day.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo kept her eyes peeled and her spatula at the ready. She didn't like keeping her shop closed for the day, forgoing the money to be made, but she wasn't obsessive about it like Nabiki. She knew her priorities. Ranma had a plan, and had told her her place in it.

Her place was to keep a certain blind spot under control. According to the best view Ranma could get, Mousse was somewhere in this part of town. She would have to make sure he didn't get too close to Ranma until the appointed time.

She ducked into several restaraunts before she found him - working as a delivery boy, it seemed. She followed him from the rooftops, knowing she would draw his attention eventually. Ranma had warned he would have an arsenal of weapons under his clothes. She had brought a full complement of her own tricks to deal with him.

She followed at street level, waiting for the right moment. She hoped Ranma's plan worked.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan basked on her rooftop, waiting for Happosai. She had found if she just let the old freak be himself she could see his movements much more clearly. That meant, of course, submitting to some groping, but that also made him more vulnerable. No one seemed to have a hard time hitting him once he latched on to someone's chest.

The hard part about waiting was keeping a straight face. All these cursed people chasing after a cure that would only work for an hour. He could at least feel good about himself for not being a true sadist. He might lead people on wild goose chases, but not to the degree he knew Shampoo could.

If only he could give everyone more concrete reassurances. That was the hard part about being able to see a changeable future: so many times, he could see, the good outcomes weren't possible if the wrong people - which might include the benificiaries - knew what was coming.

It was like so many of the masters his father had trained him under had said: it isn't the destination; it's the journey. Sometimes there were no shortcuts.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The dating couple had reached the amusement park. Akane decided to lay down the law. "First rule: I don't kiss on a first date."

"Your modesty is one of your signal virtues," Kuno said.

"Second rule: No touching. We pretend we're just two strangers who happen to be walking together."

"Ah! But then it is not a date. I would shout from the rooftops!" He climbed up a lamppost. "IT IS A MOST GLORIOUS DAY! THE FAIR AKANE TENDO AND I ARE ON A DATE!"

Akane dragged himdown and pinded him silent. "Third rule! NO SHOUTING!"

"I understand..." Kuno said, massaging his lumps. "Now let be in line."

Akane gritted her teeth and put up with several minutes of Kuno's gushing as they waited to reach the ticket stand. Once in the park proper Kuno immediately steered them toward the gaming arcade, heading straight for a game of knocking over cups with gaming tokens. He indicated the stuffed animals on the shelves. "Name your prize."

Akane chose the worst-looking thing she could, something she would find easy to throw away afterward. Kuno put down his money and picked up his three tokens. He missed completely.

"Ha! I bet I can do it!" Akane was starting to let her competitive nature run. Neither of them had really done any practice with projectiles, so this seemed a test of raw talent. She was betting she could show him up. She put down her money.

She did little better than Kuno, knocking over only one cup. "ARGH! I just know I can do this!" She put down more money.

"A fair contest," Kuno judged. "Let us see who wins first." He matched her game for game.

Fifty feet away through the crowd, Nabiki sweatdropped as the two gave it try after try. "Can't either of them PLAY this game...?"

Kuno finally won in five tries. Akane insisted on continuing for eighteen more. "It can't be this hard!" She threw her tokens hard enough to stick in the back wall, but kept missing the stacked cups. Several times her token went between the gaps among them.

Nabiki was glad when they finally moved on; she was losing entirely too much money at ring toss. She suspected Akane would be even worse, with her record. "And I bet Ranma would win every try..."

The couple then went strolling around the grounds. Akane couldn't contain her curiousity. "So, Kuno, where is that powder?"

"Powder? Of what do you speak?"

She grabbed his arms almost tightly enough to cut off circulation. "The Instant Nyannicuan powder!"

"Ah. I see I bore you. Far be it from me to cause you grief. We shall return home."

"It's there, isn't it? We get to use it now!" Akane could barely contain her excitement.

"Nay. Perhaps some other day, when you are more focused..."

Akane dragged him toward the teacup ride. "Let's have a little tea."

Nabiki moved to follow. So did a black bird, though no one noticed.

Akane tried not to focus on Kuno's face as he babbled on about nothing coherent. She looked around at the crowd and saw Nabiki trying to get her attention. She waved.

"Someone you know?" Kuno asked.

"No one!" Akane said. "What were you were saying...?"

Nabiki took several minutes trying to convey her message to Akane by sign language. Akane couldn't figure out what she was trying to say. "I should get him to play pachinko? Wait, no... try the go-karts? No... Karaoke? No..."

Finally Nabiki got a placard and wrote out a large message worthy of Genma. [CHECK HIS CLOTHES, BAKA!]

Akane scowled and looked away. This took her to face Kuno. "Say, Kuno-san..." She laid her hands on his suit. It looked dry; the slimy feeling must be her imagination. "How did you learn that Hundred Blows trick? Is it something like Ranma did with the Amaguriken?"

Kuno expostulated for minutes on his techniques and how he had learned them. Akane tried feeling around Kuno's pockets, but nothing seemed like a packet of dust to her. Finally he decided her roaming hands indicated she wanted to get physical. "Akane... you really mean you wish to... kiss?" He pursed his lips, inviting her.

Akane broke away and dragged him out of the ride. "I need to freshen up. Where's the restrooms...?"

Nabiki was relieved to meet her sister in the ladies' room. "How are you going to find anything in his clothes feeling him like that? You have no idea how to search pockets, do you?"

"I am NOT going to be giving him any more ideas! YOU feel him up if you have to!"

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't get near him!"

"Why not? You could just bump into him!"

"It's going to take a bit more than that..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shinnosuke was frantic. He had to get into get into that park! Kuno had to know His plan was about to go up in smoke.

Kuno had been unusually cautious. It had seemed warranted. He had given the packets to Hiroshi, a boy in their class, whom Kuno had thought he could trust. Hiroshi had not known what the packets were, and had known better than to ask. He was told to keep them in a safe place, somewhere no one would look.

Kuno's trust had only gone so far, of course. He had told Shinnosuke to keep an eye on Hiroshi and the packets. He lived next door, so it was easy to get a view of Hiroshi's house. He had seen Hiroshi put them in his sister's dresser and walk away, apparently thinking they were secure there. His sister, Shinnosuke knew, was out of town for several days, and so would not check there.

None of them had reckoned with a now well-known figure in Nerima who regularly did check women's dressers. And now Hiroshi was heading off to Shinjuku or somewhere sufficiently remote from Kuno's wrath while his secret monitor, Shinnosuke, had to tell Kuno of Hiroshi's failure. He did not pretend he could follow the panty thief across the neighborhood rooftops, like Ranma could.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough money for the park entry fee.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Soun had woken on the way to Furinkan. The two fathers now stalked the halls, looking for any boys who might be Kuno's associates. Soun wished he had paid more attention to the Kuno boy; maybe he would know by now what his friends would look like.

They had found no one there. "He is loyal to his master," Soun said. "So we must assume it is on his grounds, or else in his hands."

At which moment fate intervened. Happosai went by with several sets of ladies' underwear in hand. "What a haul! What a haul!" He stopped a moment and noticed his two students. "Ah. What brings you two out here on a Sunday? As you can see, school is not in session."

The two were looking wide-eyed at him. "Master... you have..."

"Oh, such silky darlings! I suppose you want them for yourself? Well, you can't have them! Steal your own!" He kicked them both away and set off on a course for destiny.

Genma and Soun got up and followed after him as fast as possible. They needed that underwear. Specifically the pair with two packets of Instant Spring powder in it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane was trying to steer Kuno to where Nabiki was pointing. The Haunted House, it looked like. Of course! Plenty of dark halls and rooms there.

"A haunted house? Good for a laugh, I suppose. The true samurai has no fear of death." He went along, not noticing Nabiki going in well ahead of them.

A child nearby pointed out a bird to his mother. "Look! Mommy! A parrot!"

The mother looked in the direction her son pointed. "Where? I don't see anything."

"On that pole!" He pointed at the top of a lamppost.

"That's no parrot. It's black."

"But look at it! It's just like a parrot!"

"No. There are no black parrots."

In the haunted house the halls were suitably dark. Akane tried running on ahead. "Come on, Kuno! This way!"

"No need to hurry... there is much to see..." He suddenly felt fingers all over him, probing his shirt, jacket, pants. "Akane! So forward! Yes... I can feel the passion burning within you..."

Akane tried to shut out Kuno. Just what was Nabiki doing to him? Was she really just searching him?

Suddenly Kuno stopped, his voice muffled. There was a tiny sucking sound. It abruptly ended, leaving Kuno gasping for air. She felt someone rush past her in the darkness. "Nabiki!" she whispered.

"You owe me big time for this, sis," Nabiki whispered back before heading toward the exit.

Kuno bumped into her and took her arm. "Well, it seems you have decided to drop the charade and show your passion. Should we return immediately or do you wish to continue to enjoy the park?"

"We're going," she said. The sooner they got this over with, the safer.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan checked her watch. "Three... two... one..."

There he was, bouncing along the rooftops. She ducked down low and waited where she could see him land. Right on cue, he fell into Ranma's arms. "What? Ranma, my girl! Don't you have your own panties by now?"

Ranma said nothing, turning toward her target and checking the angle. She gave the old master a mighty punt over the rooftops. the fathers landed, noticed Happosai's new directino, and adjusted.

Down on the street, Kasumi saw Ranma heading after them. They were moving quite fast. She was hard pressed to follow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo had traced Mousse to several deliveries. It seemed as if he had no plans to attack Ranma that day after all.

Plans or not, he could still react to events. Such as seeing Shampoo coming the other way up the street. The nearly blind master of hidden weapons could not contain himself. "Shampoo! I'm here! I have a plan -"

Shampoo pulled out a bonbori and smashed Mousse over the head. "You is lucky today, Mousse. Shampoo have delivery or you die now."

The two had stopped in the middle of the residential street. At that moment a small figure carrying a bag full of ladies' underwear landed on a nearby roof after an extened ballistic flight. He got his bearings and hopped down, landing next to Shampoo's bike. "Ooh, a snack!" Happosai opened the delivery box and made off with a bowl of noodles.

"You! Stop! Thief!" Shampoo turned the bike around and started to pedal after the stolen delivery. She was hindered by a panda landing on her, sending her to the ground.

Mousse was instantly at her side. "Shampoo! Are you all right?" He looked at the panda and its human companion as they ran off after the thief. Blades erupted from his sleeves as he joined the chase. "I will avenge you Shampoo!"

Ukyo realized this was her cue. As Shampoo was getting her bike up and starting to pedal after Happosai, she interposed herself in Mousse's way. "Hey, you! We got business!" She held her spatula ready.

Mousse paused. "You! You are Saotome's woman? I knew I should not have let you live. Now Ranma will have to show himself to save you! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Kasumi arrived nearly a minute later to see the two going at. She let them fight their own battle. Nabiki had told her to follow Ranma, and that was what she would do. She wished she could run faster. Keeping up with trained martial artists wasn't easy.

It got consideraby easier when Mousse realized Ukyo was delaying him. He brought out a pail of water and threw it at her. "Let's see how well you fight as a fox!"

Ukyo batted the wave of water away with her spatula. "Not so fast! Ranchan warned me to look out for that!" She threw some batter-glue to immobilize his legs. They now shared a rooftop, facing off agaisnt each other as the noodle thief and Shampoo gained distance on them.

Then Ukyo noticed where her deflected water had landed. "Kasumi -? Oh, I'm so sorry, Kasumi! Don't worry, I'll change you back when I've dealt with -" Her own words were cut off as Mousse hit her with another bucket.

"Foolish woman! You shouldn't let yourself get distracted in battle! Now where did I put that solvent..." He fumbled in his robes and brought out a tube of solvent, freeing his legs. "Shampoo! I'm coming!"

The fox crawled out of her clothes. She looked down at the unicorn standing amid shreds of clothing. *Looks like I owe her a new dress, too...* The two of them headed after Mousse, racing to catch up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tatewaki Kuno was not exactly pleased to see Shinnosuke at the exit to the park. "Shinnosuke! What are you doing here? Has something happened?"

Shinnosuke explained the situation. "So... I should have known better than to entrust them to Hiroshi. That panty thief is in league with Saotome..."

"He's in league with himself!" Akane protested.

The distinction was lost on Kuno. "Ranma has tipped his hand at last. He is making his play for your hand! No doubt he will have our cures by now. I shall find him and defeat him once and for all for your hand!" He drew his bokken from the folds of his coat - Akane would not have thought they could hold the weapon - and rushed off to find his nemesis.

"Kuno! Wait!" Akane followed. She wondered if Happosai knew those packets were in his stash. He would have no reason to hold on to them. Maybe he could be convinced to turn them over.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The outdoor bazaar looked peaceful enough, but the vendors who had set up their stands for the day couldn't help but feel apprehensive. One never knew when a youma would appear these days. They prayed the Sailor Senshi were about, ready to defend them before they suffered too much loss of business.

The earring vendor didn't know how lucky she was; the very people she was counting on for protection were now examining her wares. "How do these look?" Usagi held up some earrings to her ears for Mamoru's consideration.

"They look gorgeous. But they're a bit pricey. I am on a student budget, you know."

Usagi was crestfallen. She hung her head, bowing to the inevitable. "I suppose it's the way of young love. You can never have anything good."

"We have all we need," Mamoru said. "We have each other."

Usagi clung to Mamoru as they waked away from the earring stand and examined other vendors. "That's true. Just you and me..." She felt a sudden breeze as something rushed past. The breezy feeling didn't stop. "... and MY UNDERWEAR!"

The pair were suddenly trampled by a panda. Then run over by a ramen delivery girl on a bicycle. Then bowled over by several women and a man brandishing numerous blades. Then nearly trampled again by a horse - wait, was that a horn on its head? - with a fox riding on it.

Usagi shook her head to clear it. She looked up at the receding train. "A unicorn? That is SOOO chintzy." Suddenly she remembered her distress. "Hey! Wait a minute! That freak has my bra!" She took off to join the train. Mamoru rushed to join her.

"Usako! Are you all right?"

"No I'm not! That guy up ahead took my bra right out of my clothes! It must be a youma!" She raced ahead of the unicorn and joined the pack of women. "Did all of you get underwear stolen too?"

"Yes!" one of them said. "We know this guy! He's notorious in Nerima! The police can't stop him!"

"I know someone who can..." Usagi dropped out of the chase, ducked into an alley, and opened her communicator. "Minna! There's a youma stealing underwear at the outdoor bazaar!" She reported her position to the others.

"A youma stealing underwear?" Rei said. "Where is Nephrite getting these guys from?"

"I don't know and I don't care! It's got my bra! For the crime of stealing women's underwear, in the name of the Moon I'LL KILL THAT PERVERT!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

As Kuno had said, it was not hard to find Happosai. The dating party now headed through the streets to intercept him.

Kuno didn't see a girl come around a corner and collide with her, sending both down in a heap. Akane was glad of the chance to gain distance from him and surged ahead. Kuno swore and began disentangling himself from the other girl.

"Watch where you're going, you clumsy, ignorant -" He stopped in sudden amazement as he finally got a good look at her. Such enchanting eyes, such an angelic face. And that hair, that brilliant red hair, tied in a pigtail in back. "You... I'm sorry miss. I... who are you? Something about you seems... almost familiar..."

The girl was still too dazed and surprised to form a coherent response. She just looked at him dumbly. His outburst seemed not to have registered, at least. "I'm alright. Are you hurt?" He helped her to her feet.

Kuno remembered what he was doing. "Forgive me, pig-tailed girl... I shall see you later... perhaps if I can find you tonight..." He gathered himself up and ran to catch up to Akane.

Three older boys came up behind her. "Hikaru! We saw you get knocked over. Are you alright? Did you see who it was?"

"I'm fine, Satoru. That boy... I think that was the one guy you faced at the last tournament..."

"Tatewaki Kuno?" Most disturbing. Given his apparent delusions of nobility, this should be an honest accident and not an assault. But if he started showing interest in Hikaru... "Masaru, Kakeru. I think we should be on watch for that one. I don't like the look he was giving Hikaru..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The boy in question, meanwhile, was reaching an ideal point in front of Happosai to stop him in his tracks - as if anything could. He stood in the old freak's path and held his weapon ready. "Fiend! Today you shall know the wrath of the heavens! Feel the might of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Happosai merely leaped on his head and over him. A vein popped on Kuno's forehead. "Wait! Stop, that I may smite you!" He now took off in pursuit.

Akane was a few paces back. "Akane! Good to see you!" Happosai waved a brassiere. "I think I have one of yours in here somewhere..."

"Give all that stuff back, you pervert!" Akane joined the train at its head. She didn't notice Ranma-chan behind her, dropping back.

Nabiki was a hundred yards up the shopping street, trying to get a good look at how Kuno and her sister were doing. A man passed in front of her pulling a cart loaded with bottled water. Happosai bounded over the bottles. "What -?" She noticed something in one of the panties hanging out of his bag. "The powder -"

Several people now crashed into the bottled water cart from behind Nabiki. Kuno instinctively used his bokken to cut through. Neriman instincts, naturally, left much to be desired: he succeeded in splashing himself, Akane, and Nabiki. Now a mouse, he found it hard to keep up with the pervert.

Akane and Nabiki found it much easier. Ducks and wolves were faster than humans.

As were unicorns. Kasumi, carrying Ukyo-fox on her back, was gaining on Happosai, passing the human women following him. A mouse leapt to her back to join Ukyo. The fox-girl gave the mouse a look of death.

The unicorn soon caught up with the duck and the wolf. The mouse decided the wolf made a safer mount.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The group cleared the shopping district and reached a plaza with a fountain. A black bird flew down from a tree in front of Happosai, plucking something from the sack on his back. It soared over the approaching animals and several women, carrying the packets in its talons.

The animals, being in front, noticed their shifting objective. They reversed course as they splashed into the fountain. This ran them into a bicycle, knocking Shampoo down and changing her. A general melee ensued. The human women started flowing around the fountain after their own quarry.

One of the women stayed back. Ranma-chan leapt up and grabbed the bird out of the air. "Going somewhere?" she said to the blackened parrot as she tore the packets out of its grip. She then threw them toward the fighting group in the fountain. "Ucchan! Catch!"

"Saotome!" Mousse had now caught up. "At last I have you! PREPARE TO DIE!" He jumped deliberately over Ranma-chan's head, throwing a few chain weapons to delay her, and landed in the fountain. The tiger that emerged stood its ground, waiting for Ranma to lose her mind. It did not take long. Ranma was soon running away in fear. The tiger tried to follow, but was hindered by a squirrel and a fox attacking its face, forcing it back into the fountain.

A minute later several sailor-suited warriors for Love and Justice and one man in tuxedo jumped down into the area. "Eww. What a mess," Sailor Moon said. "What happened here?"

"Why is that wolf wearing a bathing suit?" Makoto asked.

Mercury scanned the group. "There's dark energy over them, but they have human signatures underneath," she said.

A dark shape now wandered near the fountain and squealed as it hopped on the rim. Sailor Mars looked in surprise at her pet pig. "P-chan? You followed us here?"

Tuxedo Mask reminded the Senshi of their duty at a time like this. "If these are transformed people, we need to help them. Sailor Moon?"

"Right," Sailor Moon said. She pulled out the Crescent Moon Wand. The words and movements of the spell came to her as if by instinct. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Bright light washed over the fountain and the animals in it. Onlookers, having gathered to watch a rare case of the Senshi in action in daytime, suddenly had spots in their eyes. When they cleared, several of the men developed nosebleeds.

"Yow!" Sailor Moon suddenly grabbed Tuxedo Mask and faced him away from the group. "Ecchi!"

The other Senshi blushed and averted their gazes. "They're all naked!" Mars said.

The bystanders had noticed this. There were more blinding flashes, this time from cameras. The naked people in the pool faced down and dove under water. Akane kept her head up, ready to smash perverts reaching in to the fountain.

The prevert who had started all this wasn't so easy to stop. He had now backtracked, his attention attracted by the lightshow. "Akane... my sweet Akane! And Kasumi! And... all of you..."

He was so paralyzed by this vision of paradise he forgot his victims still chasing him. "HENTAI!" "Give us back our things!" "Burn in Hell!"

Standing near the back of the crowd, Ranma-chan smiled. The fear hadn't been as bad as she'd made it look. Now Mousse was no threat, and everyone in Nerima was uncursed.

"I love it when a plan comes together," she said as she slipped away into the afternoon.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I've always felt that in any Ranma/SM crossover Moon Healing Escalation should cure Jusenkyo curses, even if they are wild magic having nothing to do with the Dark Kingdom. It's author's prerogative, of course, to make it a bit harder; John Biles in his great unfinished epic "Children of Fire" ruled for that fic that it would take the guinzuishou fully channeled, at risk to Usagi's life. But I am disappointed to not see many authors even address the point - the NWC suffer from a magical malady and the Senshi have a dispelling attack available. I haven't read enough Ranma/Harry Potter crossovers to know how the matter is addressed in them, but I'm willing to bet those types of crossovers need a deeper discussion of the issue to go anywhere.

In case anyone missed it: The girl Kuno bowls over on his way to intercepting Happosai is Hikaru Shido from Magic Knight Rayearth. I am also hoping to get a Tenchi Muyo cameo in later.

As to the ideas thrown out so far: I may do them at some point if I get time, but for now they are just to provoke thought.


	14. Aftermath

Chapter 14: Aftermath

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ah, such a fine morning," Soun mused. "Good times, eh, Saotome?"

"Never better," Genma said. "I feel like a new man!"

"Better than a new panda," Ranma said.

"Good morning, Ranma!" Kasumi said. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma said as he and his father settled down to restart their morning sparring in the form of their usual food fight.

"She seems to be taking it well," Nabiki commented. "If you'd been away for a few weeks, you'd never know she'd been cursed."

"So calm and peaceful," Akane agreed. The chaos that had been creeping into Nerima since the Saotomes' arrival - even before, if you counted Kuno - didn't seem to affect her. Akane still blamed them for the fact that it had even begun to apply to her at all.

"You're not so bad these days either," Ranma noted. "Might almost be kawaii one of these days."

Akane gave him a sharp glance. "Well, I'm just glad I don't turn into a duck anymore," she said. "No thanks to you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nabiki said. "Ranma did promise our curses would be cured permanently. But Mousse said that powder would only have worked for an hour. Shouldn't you have known that, Ranma?"

Everyone focused on him. Ranma sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, I said you'd be cured forever. Didn't say anything about that instant spring stuff."

"So you set all that up?" Akane was livid. "Half the city saw us naked!"

"Not me, little sister..." Nabiki reminded her. "Not my fault you couldn't keep your suit on."

"And how am I supposed to do that when I was that small? And what was Kasumi supposed to wear? Nothing stretches that much!"

"Hey, you know who's to blame," Nabiki said, looking straight at Ranma.

"Yeah," Ranma said, "where is the old freak, anyhow?" He looked around as if hoping to find Happosai about, feeling himself getting dangerously hot. This conversation was getting into dangerous territory.

Akane bought the misdirection, at least. "Next time that old pervert shows up around here, he's dead,"

"We'll help," Soun said. "Buddha knows we've tried..."

"And we'll keep trying until we get it right!" Genma finished.

"Amen," Ranma said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He wasn't entirely off the hook yet. Nabiki still had her doubts. "Fess up," she said as he practiced katas in the dojo. "You planned that, didn't you?"

"Planned what?" Ranma was continuing to practice a Soul of Ice variation, trying to develop a good poker face. He figured he might need it for the Gambling King, if he survived to that confrontation.

"Don't try it with me, Saotome. You knew what was going to happen."

"You know I have my limits," he said. "Happosai and Mousse were both there."

"True. But still... awfully convenient the way things worked out." She gave him an accusing look as she left.

She wasn't the hardest one on him for his role. Cologne guessed as well. "It would have been wiser to consult with me," she said. "You should have just arranged for all of the cursed to meet with Sailor Moon privately. They didn't have to be humiliated in public."

"Well, yeah," Ranma said. "But I just figured it would be the fastest way."

Cologne sighed. "Still a hasty child. Patience something you need to begin learning. You don't have to do everything today... or alone. You have allies now. You are part of a team. An army, if you will. Armies rely on trust."

"Armies aren't made of girls."

"Most aren't. This one is. And they are just as much at risk as any mundane soldier."

"I don't see them dying. Not if I help."

It didn't occur to Cologne to ask him if HE would die if he helped.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Others around Nerima were wholly positive in their attitudes. Tatewaki Kuno seemed to have forgotten the humiliation of being a mouse. No one dared speak of it, of course. His sister now worshipped the Senshi, and had started looking into them.

Ukyo was closer to Ranma than ever. She suspected his plan might have had more to it than he had let on, and it didn't occur to her that he could have arranged a more low-key way to meet the Senshi and get decursed. She was a bit sensitive about having been seen naked in public. Ranma was beginning to see how it just wasn't worth bringing up certain subjects.

Ryoga hadn't been seen since he had reclaimed his things from the Tendo home. Ranma knew he was wandering across Japan again, training for their next battle. He suspected the lost boy would not want to meet with Rei any time soon.

Shampoo had started glomping Ranma every time she saw him and asking him for dates. The tension between her and Ukyo was rising. Ranma knew she was trying to make a case for marriage for herself. He regarded her as more dangerous than Nabiki in her ability to make Ukyo jealous. She was serving as an example of the sort of woman Ukyo wanted to be but had not spent years trying to become.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi were gathered at the Hikawa shrine for their weeknight study and training session with Cologne. As Ranma was not there, Luna was. The mooncat was eager to learn the details of the incident on Sunday.

"So those were some of the people Ranma lives with?" Luna asked.

Cologne nodded. "His father was the panda. The family he lives with was cursed recently, only the father was uncursed - he was the man with the mustache. A few others were his enemies, always ready to challenge him - you know how some boys are."

"Jocks," Rei said dismissively. The others all nodded.

"But if all of those were Jusenkyo curses like Ranma's," Ami said, "wouldn't we be able to cure Ranma's curse the same way?"

Cologne paused at that. She suddenly seemed deep in thought. "That... is a most intriguing possibility. In principle, it could work... but the Lady's curse has always been stronger than others, resistant to overwriting by other springs..."

"Because she was Sailor Pluto," Luna said. "Her Senshi powers and nature were clearly bound to the spring, in addition to her body's appearance. That made it stronger."

"So maybe it will take more power, is all?" Makoto asked.

"How much more, do you think?" Usagi wondered.

"We shouldn't be hasty, Usagi," Luna warned. "I mean, what would actually happen? What would it mean for him to be cured?"

"A dangerous question," Cologne said. "It might mean the powers of Pluto are up for grabs again, and her Spring can be used. In which case Shampoo would take them, though under the circumstances we would feel obliged to return here to help with the war against the Dark Kingdom. Or it might mean her spirit will finally be freed of attachment to this world - she will die at last, and her spring will become an ordinary spring, carrying only the image of her body." She shook her head. "I do not want to risk it. Not until this war is won. We need her. Afterwards, well... we shall see."

They all agreed, and Cologne left as they began an ordinary school study session. As she left the grounds of the shrine, she could not help but feel conflicted. The Lady had been tied to the village since its founding. Tradition would demand that she stay. But would she accept this? Would she feel honor bound? Or did honor and duty work differently in her time and place?

She was, ultimately, a soldier from an ancient war, a war not yet won. What of when it was? Would she deserve her eternal rest? Assuming she did not end up a casualty of war again, more permanently this time?

So many questions. Cologne feared they would only get the answers from those who knew Sailor Pluto best: those who had betrayed and murdered her, taken her powers, and destroyed the Moon Kingdom. And they would only get those answers from the Dark Kingdom in the final battle against them, when it might be too late.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Because I hate being in plays, okay?" Akane said.

"Please, Akane! Please please please!" a man in a Godzilla suit said.

"Simply no one else can play the lead!" the Drama Club director, in clown suit, said.

Ranma watched in amusement as the Drama Club tried to recruit Akane. He had considered warning her of this last night, but it wouldn't have really changed anything in the end. Now he was trying to figure how little involvement in it he could get away with.

Akane was trying to finish after-class cleanup. "Don't you fools ever give up?"

"Come on, Akane! Just try it!" Yuka said.

"You should be flattered they asked you!" Sayuri added.

"Ain't you guys doing Romeo and Juliet this year?" Ranma said.

"Yes!" the director said. "Only Akane would be right for our Juliet!"

Akane suddenly made a pile out of the desks and climbed on top. "Oh, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" she emoted.

"IT IS THE EAST! And Juliet is the sun!" Kuno suddenly surprised Akane, emerging from the pile of desks.

"I really don't need any coaching from you, Kuno!" Akane said, hitting him away.

"But I am Romeo to your fair Juliet!" he protested.

"And who cast YOU, hm?" the director asked.

"I did," Kuno said, handing him a Permission to Join slip.

"What? You..." The director examined the slip. It was, indeed, a valid slip, signed by his recruitment officer. When had he done this?

"I, indeed," Kuno proclaimed. "And if one such as I am to be in your amusing little troupe, should I not be given the finest role?" He brandished his bokken at the director.

"Well, now that you put it that way..." the director saw the light of reason.

"Not so fast, Kuno..." Ranma said, looking around. "I think you got some competition."

In short order Hikaru Gosunkugi had declared himself a claimant to the mantle of Romeo. As did a non-student... Happosai. "Now, I admit, playing Romeo at my age won't be easy... but I would get a love scene with Akane! HA Ha ha!"

Ranma intercepted his leap. "Lucky you! So popular! So what about these love scenes, director-san? Anybody kiss?"

"Well, of course... that is rather the high point..."

"How about it, Akane? Looks like you have your choice of Romeos." He swept an arm to indicate the candidates. "Still want the part?"

"Uhhmmm..." She looked hesitant for a few seconds, then thought of something. "What about you, Ranma? Don't you want to be Romeo?"

Ranma realized he was now paying for being so effective at keeping his distance from her until now; she honestly didn't see him as a pursuer, but as more of a friend, someone she could be comfortable with when other options were not to her liking. "Ah, well, I never did any acting... I don't think I'd be any good..."

His card-playing friends, naturally, were not on the same wavelength. "Go for it, Ranma!" Hiroshi said.

"You can save Akane from them!" Daisuke pitched in.

"I guess..." Suddenly he found the director making out an admission slip in his name. He sighed. Some days you had to go with the flow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He had managed to acquire a student copy of the script some nights earlier. He looked through it as he explained the situation to Kasumi. "So she's actually going to be Juliet this time?" she asked.

"This time?"

"Well, when her elementary school did the play, she was Romeo." She pulled out the family photo album and showed Ranma a picture of Akane in the role.

"Man. And she LOOKED the part yet!" He returned to the script. "Hmmm. I might give it a go. The guy isn't a total wuss. He does kill a few people..."

Akane had been following the conversation. "I don't think they're doing the fight scenes," she said. "This is for a regional competition. They're just doing the ones everyone wants to see... the romantic ones."

"How romantic?" Ranma sweatdropped. "Does this mean you'd have to kiss Kuno or Gosunkugi? Or Happosai?"

Akane was suddenly blushing. "Well, if you put it like that..."

"Oh, don't give up, Akane!" Kasumi now offered her support. "You were so excited about this role! Don't give up on it now!"

Akane looked down at herself, then back up. "You're right. Playing Juliet was my childhood dream. No matter who Romeo is -"

On cue, Happosai appeared and leapt. "Oh, then you'll do it for me, Akane-chan?"

She smashed him out the door. "Dammit! If only I had a good Romeo..."

Ranma felt all eyes turn to him. "Yeah, I know... but do I really got to KISS her?"

"You have our permission!" Soun suddenly had a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"To save Akane from the Master's clutches, you should be willing to make ANY sacrifice!"

"I was afraid you'd say that."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Where am I... nah, forget it." For once, Ryoga was happy to be lost. The last thing he wanted now was to get back to the Tokyo area, where he might run into Rei. The first girl to ever show him any kindness and tenderness, even if she didn't know he was her pig. Now, she knew everything. How could she forgive him?

"Oh, Rei-san... if only... we could have met as people... then... then... AAARRHGGG!" He lashed out with a fist in rage, knocking over a tree. "How can she forgive me? After being with her for weeks..."

He tried to banish her from his mind. Best forget her and move on. Maybe one day he could thank the Senshi for curing his Jusenkyo curse. But the greater curse of his misdirection might mean he would never see them again.

He had better see Ranma again. That he was determined to do. And when he was determined to find something, or someone, sooner or later he would. And then there would be a reckoning.

He came down a hill to a beach. It was small, probably attached to the private resort on the cliff above. But more importantly, it had girls on it. Girls in bathing suits, splashing about in the water... girls he suddenly recognized. And who stopped as they recognized him.

"Hey... don't I know you?" Rei said.

"Yeah..." Makoto snapped her fingers. "Weren't you one of the guys in the fountain...?"

Ryoga froze up. *I'm soooo dead...* He fell on his back, paralyzed by embarrassment.

"Uh... Mako-chan..." Usagi said, "I don't think you should have mentioned that."

They dragged him up to the resort, where he eventually managed to loosen up. "Th- thank you for helping me... up here..."

"Oh, think nothing of it," Usagi said, also feeling awkward. "Just doing our good deed for the day..."

"I think he's still to embarassed to say anything," Ami said.

"Probably he can't forget the fountain..."

"*I* don't want to remember that fountain, Mako-chan," Usagi said. "It's getting ME kinda embarrassed. Can we PLEASE talk about something else?"

Rei slapped her hand down on the table. "I'll tell you what he SHOULD be embarrassed about." She pointed at Ryoga. "This guy spent weeks living under my roof and didn't try to let us know who he was. He knows who we are, he heard us talk about Senshi business."

"That's right!" Luna said. "Who are you, really? Are you a Dark Kingdom spy?"

"A dark what...?" Ryoga was now simply confused.

"We have to ask Ranma about this," Ami said. "He should know if they've learned anything from him."

"Ranma?" Ryoga perked at the name. "Ranma Saotome? Do you know him?"

"Huh?" Usagi blinked. "Do YOU know him?"

Ryoga's expression darkened, his embarrassment now forgotten. "Because of him, I've seen Hell," he said. He explained his acquaintance, from the bread fights to Jusenkyo and his time in Nerima recently.

"Ahmmm... yeah..." Usagi and the others sweatdropped as he told his tale. "I don't see how much of that has to do with Ranma... but he's one of us! His girl side, anyway. She's Sailor Pluto."

"Sailor... Pluto?" Ryoga mulled that over. "Then he had magic powers like you?"

"That's right!" Makoto said. "If you want to pick a fight with him, you have to fight us too!"

"You would defend that coward?"

"Coward?" Makoto said. "He's the most fearless fighter I've seen!"

"When he DOES fight," Rei said. "But why doesn't he join more of our battles?"

"Ummm..." Usagi wondered. "Maybe you do have a point, then..."

"Feh," Ryoga said. "Ranma only fights when he wants to. When he's sure he'll win"

"But that's just good strategy..." Luna began to protest.

"It's cowardice! His family knows nothing of honor! He should fight ALL of his battles!"

"Hey, I agree," Usagi said, holding up her hands, "but I think he has a lot on his plate. I mean, I wouldn't want to be in the same town as that Happosai guy he's dealing with right now..."

"Well, it's better that you stay out of the way. What we have is a matter between men."

"Ahhh," Rei said. "One of his jock fights. Mako-chan, everyone, I think we should leave them alone to settle this." She walked up to Ryoga and got uncomfortably close to him. "But you have to promise not to tell anything about us to anyone. Especially any monsters you find in Tokyo."

"And don't get in their way if you run into one of their fights," Luna added.

"I can keep secrets," Ryoga said, "and I can take care of myself. But I can't stand by while girls are in danger. As a man, I would have to protect you."

"Well, can you handle ghosts? We saw one around here last night," Rei said.

"Ghosts?" Ryoga sweatdropped. "S-sure, I'm not afraid of ghosts..." *As long as I can hit them...* he thought.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The day of the competition Ranma went to confront Happosai directly to prevent the old man from taking part. The Master of Anything-Goes won this round, giving him some obstacles to overcome before he could make it to the school.

These he could deal with on only his physical strength. He came into the school dressing room through the window just as Happosai was making a leap at Akane. "O, fear not, my Akane! For I shall be your loving Romeo!"

"I don't THINK so, FREAK!" Ranma smashed through the glass and into Happosai's back. "Did you REALLY think sealing me in concrete and burying me in the backyard was even going to slow me down!" He shook off bits of concrete and a few chains.

Someone had a Plan B. "Oh, Ranma! I'm so glad you decided to play Romeo after all!" Ranma turned to see Gosunkugi in a girls' uniform from another school. "I'm your number one fan! I even made a costume all by myself..."

Ranma immediately shoved the costume back at him and booted him out the door. "Sorry. I'm engaged. I can't take a present from a girl." He closed the door, which then shook with a muffled BANG.

"Ranma..." Akane said. "Are you sure you can handle being Romeo?"

"It's either that or Juliet. You don't want me taking that from you, do you?"

Furinkan's turn was the last one of the night. There were still several hours to go. Ranma headed out to survey some of the other schools and their choices of material. One girl was dressd up for Alice in Wonderland; one boy as Jesus, complete with cross; others represented Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other works from around Asia. One person even came as some sort of cactus.

"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!"

"Oh, not again." Ranma stopped the charging Sherman Tank with an open-palm strike. The cardboard construct came apart, revealing Tsubasa Kurenai. "Figures. You actually BELONG here."

"You... UGLY thing, you! You can't take my Ukyo away!"

Ukyo, doing brisk business with the actors and audiences this night, took a break to come over to the commotion. "Give it up and GET LOST!" She and Ranma stuffed the dress-up boy in a trash can and kicked it over the Nerima skyline.

Ranma then held himself steady as Ukyo wheeled around and planted a deep kiss on his lips. He tried to respond properly. Maybe he would get the hang of this. in about three hundred years.

"Oh, Ranchan!" she said when they came up for air. "So you made it! Are you really going to play Romeo?"

"Ah, you know... pops want to encourage Akane or something," he said. They began walking back to her cart. "Only problem is everyone wants to see a kiss."

"You don't have to hold back on my account," she said. "This is just for a play, after all."

"Really? It's okay with you if I..."

"Yup. But you don't want to catch any germs, you know?" She held up a roll of masking tape.

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, I guess I don't..." He pocketed the roll with a grin.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

When Furinkan's turn came at the end of the night, Akane stood dressed up and ready on the balcony. "O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

"MY JULIET!" Happosai was the first to make his play as the club director tried to explain the background, leaping from the student's head and swinging on a vine.

Akane tried to stick to the script. "Wh-what man art thou...?"

Kuno leapt to the rescue. "No! I am Romeo!" His bokken cut Happosai's vine, leaving the hentai master to fall into the crowd.

Ranma took his cue. "NO! I'M ROMEO!" His patented boot-to-the-head attack decked Kuno on the stage. Happosai bounced in and a general melee followed.

"J-Juliet..." the balcony said to a surprised Akane. It was Gosunkugi, in a clever bodysuit painted in black and white stripes. "I couldn't beat them in combat... so I disguised myself as the balconEEEE!" He went sailing into the rafters courtesy of a kick from Ranma.

"Juliet!" Ranma perched on the edge of the real balcony, having come out on top of the onstage fight.

Akane tried to react. "Oh, Romeo!" She puckered up. Ranma cradled her cheek in his right hand... obscuring their mouths from the audience as he applied tape to both of them. He then brought their taped lips together as Akane's eyes widened in surprise.

Their fathers, hiding in the garden foliage, began the applause. The audience soon picked it up. The pair ripped their tape off and tried to protest. "It's just PRETEND! Just PRETEND!" they shouted over the din.

The applause continued until the other Romeos had recovered. "If thou protest it is but pretense," Kuno proclaimed, "then thy performance is inadequate. A TRUE Romeo brings out the most earnest performance in his Juliet!"

Happosai was much more plain-spoken by nature. "You're no Romeo, pigtail-boy! Hit the showers!" He threw Ranma into the rafters.

Ranma sighed. He would have no choice but to try his own Juliet.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He came back from changing to find Happosai had moved the scene along to the wedding. The director was explaining the plot changes. "Poor Juliet is captured by an evil beast intent on -"

Happosai silenced him a bonk. "Who are you calling a beast?"

This left him momentarily open. Ranma took advantage, grabbing him from behind and stuffing a bottle of champagne in his face. "Let's drink a little wedding toast!"

The audience reeled. "What? A new Juliet now? Isn't she a bit...old?"

It was true; Ranma's cursed form, being taller than his normal one - almost as tall as Kuno - gave more of an impression of being college age. Unfortunately the script didn't call for any females but Juliet, and they had no costumes for Lady Capulet or the Nurse. Ranma-chan made do with what she had.

Happosai didn't resist the drink. Ranma sealed his fate by pulling out her bra. "Let me give you a token of my love."

This had the desired effect. Happosai was so engrossed in his prize he was easy prey to being sealed in a full wine barrel and carted offstage. "One down!"

Number Two wasn't to be thrown off by Ranma's cursed form. Kuno had eyes only for Akane. "My one and only Juliet!"

Ranma joined Akane in kicking him into the crowd. "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Ranma shouted after him.

"Right here, 'dear' Juliet," he said, making a swift comeback. He retrieved one of the champagne bottles and tried to shove it in Ranma's face. Ranma was able to deflect it at the last instant.

Kuno was not worried of his tactical failures; he knew how difficult an opponent Saotome could be, especially in girl form. He had long ago decided his only chance was to be overpowering. "Into my embrace, 'dear Juliet,' if you value life!" he said sarcastically, holding his bokken forth to smite his rival.

Ranma positioned herself against the castle wall backdrop. She dodged Kuno's strokes, causing him to cut a makeshift opening into the backstage. On the last thrust she grabbed the bokken by the blade and pulled Kuno behind the wall. Akane and the audience were treated to several seconds of sounds of severe pummeling.

Gosunkugi had now recovered and took advantage of Akane's distraction. "I hope you like chloroform..." he said as he mugged her.

"Get off me!" Akane yelled as she fought back. But it was too late: the chloroform took effect, and she swooned. Gosunkugi dragged her to a coffin set up for the death scene. "Ugh... too... heavy..."

"Two down!" Ranma said, finishing tying up Kuno before changing into male form to finish the scene. "Enough with the understudies! The show must go on!"

He emerged onto the stage to find Gosunkugi trying to drag Akane. "JULIET!" He batted Gosunkugi away and cradled Akane in his arms. "Wake up, stupid! We got a play to finish!"

The curtain closed as he carried her to the coffin. The director offered his narration. "For all of Romeo's loving entreaties... she does not awaken. Juliet sleeps... the sleep of death! But wait! There is one way to awaken her! A kiss from her beloved Romeo!"

The audience was getting confused. "That sounds like Snow White... or Sleeping Beauty!"

Ranma was getting annoyed with the script. The shook the director by his clown suit. "Why does everything keep coming back to a stupid KISS!"

"A special request from our guest judge," the director explained, gesturing behind him to a famous foreign actor, Xian "China" Li.

"Right, right..." Ranma resigned himself. "Well, we've gotten away with it once..." He grabbed the masking tape again and went out to finish the show.

"It was ACTING! You said so yourself!" Ranma pleaded.

"Just how many kisses did you have to give her?" Ukyo accused.

"It was only two all night!"

"Three with Nabiki!"

"What does she have to do with this?"

"You've kissed other women one more time than me!" She puckered up. "We gotta even up."

"Yeesh. So you're keeping track now? Are they money or something? Do you really gotta stay ahead of the pack?"

"Come on, Ranchan! It's just one more kiss! It shouldn't be hard if you really mean it!"

"But I didn't mean those ones on stage! So you're still ahead!"

"R-ranchan..." She was now crying. "Don't you care about my FEELINGS!" She ran away in tears.

Ranma felt horrible, but he still felt it was frustratingly hard to kiss her. He was still too uncomfortable with it. He was, in the end, his father's son, and Genma had raised him to be a fighter, not a lover. He didn't want anything to do with this sappy stuff.

He splashed himself and took a long walk through the night, hoping to see a vision of himself growing strong enough to be a real man about this. Whatever that meant.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga was trying to get to sleep when he heard the crash of glass from the resort. He had set up his camp just off the grounds, within sight of the house, so that he would not get lost on the way in if the ghost showed up again and the Senshi needed his help.

"A battle...?" He quickly rushed through the trees to find a middle-aged man, looking like some sort of demon, lying on the ground, cowering before the ghost.

It showed him no mercy, attacking him while down and sending him rolling over the grass. He tried to get up, croaking out a name. "Sakiko..."

Ryoga wondered if the ghost was of a woman scorned or something. Time to get the full story later, he decided. "Stop right there, you! You won't hurt him!" He assumed a stance and prepared his charge.

The ghost turned toward him and seemed to be sizing him up. He ran and leapt, throwing a mighty punch - and sailed right through it, landing and rolling on the ground beyond. "Dammit..." he said as he recovered his feet. "How do I fight a ghost...?"

"You bad ghost that disrupted our holiday!" This came from the house, where the transformed Senshi now posed. "In the name of the moon, we'll punish you!"

"But I'm still scared!" Moon added.

"Don't!" Ryoga shouted to them. "You'll get hurt!"

The old man continued his pleading. "Sakiko, stop! Stop! Don't you recognize me?"

Mercury vanished into the house as the other Senshi set up at three points around the glowing blue contours of the apparition. Sailor Moon took off hre tiara and charged it. "MOON TIARA ACTION!" As with Ryoga, it went through with no effect.

Jupiter now tried a less material attack. "SUPREME THUNDER!" This also failed to connect. The Senshi were now at a loss.

Mercury emerged from the resort mansion with a girl in tow, about six years old. "Father!" the girl exclaimed.

"Sakiko, can't you stop the ghost?" Mercury asked.

Ryoga blinked. "You're Sakiko? Then... who was the ghost?"

"It should have gone when I woke up," Sakiko said. "Why isn't it going away?"

The ghost attacked again, sending the Senshi flying. Ryoga tried leaping again, still to no effect. Sakiko rushed to her father's side.

"Sakiko, run! The ghost is beyond your control!"

"What does that mean?" Sakiko asked.

"I think Sakiko's wish to be out of her father's control was enhanced and started to act on its own," Mercury said. The ghost's next attack sent her flying into the bushes.

Sakiko's father was now showing remorse. "I'm sorry, I always knew you wanted to lead a normal life..."

The ghost now moved in for the kill. Sakiko suddenly turned around in desperation and closed her eyes in concentration. "STOP!"

A blast of energy erupted from her. Sakiko sustained it as it disrupted the ghost. She kept it up until the ghost was entirely dispersed. She then collapsed in exhaustion.

Everyone began to relax now that the treat seemed gone. Sakiko's father began to explain. "I wanted to prove that Sakiko had this powerful ability. I knew she hated her power, but I went on with the training. And I used the guests of the lodge as test subjects."

"Then what about them?" Sailor Moon asked, indicating the employees dressed in monster costumes.

"I bet they were trying to exorcise the ghost," Mars said.

Ryoga looked darkly at Sakiko's father. "Using a little girl like that... and your guests..." He looked away in disgust. "Feh. You deserve what you get. I'll tell people about this and then we'll see how many guests you have."

He then remembered something. "Uhhmmm...where are we, exactly...?"

The Senshi all sweatdropped at this.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: For those who were wondering, the Four Lords of the Dark Kingdom were originally Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite, and Kunzite. Each was lover of one of the Inner Senshi before falling to the control of the Dark Kingdom. I have created an original character, Magnetite, to serve as Pluto's lover and the key to turning her powers to the Dark Kingdom's use; he was the general seen in the flashback to Pluto's death. Following Jadeite's death he is promoted as replacement, and starts to take his own notes...

How I'd Do It section: Ranma/Negima crossovers. There are some good ones going right now, usually trying to get Ranma and possibly other NWC working with Negi at their normal ages - 16-18 for NWC, 10 for Negi, 14-15 for Negi's class. I'd be more interested in taking their commonly used dates - 1992 for the start of Ranma, 2003 for Negima. This means Ranma is encountering figures in the Negimaverse anywhere froma year before to a year after Negi's birth, depending on if you take Ranma from early or late in his continuity. So... how about Ranma adventuring as one of Negi's father's party?

Ranma/Ikki Tousen. Sounds very natural... Ranma graduates from near-futile, near-bloodless battles with NWC to tons of blood and gore. And Ranma-chan won't be the only one getting her clothes blown off by the force of the blows...


	15. Head Games

Chapter 15: Head Games

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

I know, this section sounds a bit weak. I'm not sure the Nabiki engagement arc is really necessary, but I figured Ranma would want her out of the picture at last by creating it himself. I tried to figure out how it would go...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Genma grunted as he slammed into the ground. He rolled out of the way to avoid Ranma's plunging kick, recovered his feet, gave a few more steps as his son advanced behind a series up swings, and jumped backward into the koi pond to submerge.

He came up to get a kick in the head, sending him flying back onto the grass again. Ranma gave him time to get to his feet, cursing profusely as he did so.

"What's the matter, pop?" Ranma taunted. "Not so easy to win if you can't just overpower me, is it?"

"It certainly is harder for Mr. Saotome to win now that he can't become a panda, is it?" Kasumi observed as the Tendos watched the morning sparring.

"Yup," Nabiki said. "Without the extra mass, he just dosen't have an advantage anymore."

"Yo, pop! Ya hear that?" Ranma continued as they engaged again. "Were you getting weak? Relying on your curse -" Ranma was cut off as he had to dodge a flying kick.

"I rely on nothing! You should learn to as well!" Genma retorted.

"Well, Ranma has definitely been winning their sparring sessions more often since we got cured," Akane said.

"It's entirely due to my training," Happosai sagely boasted. "Ranma wouldn't be nearly as fast or strong without me to guide him."

"You mean without you to chase around the neighborhood," Akane said as she glared at him.

Genma, of course, lost again that day as well. *I'm almost starting to regret getting cured...* he thought.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So now he's giving us mission orders?" Rei said with distaste, taking the note and trying to make sense of it. She handed it to Usagi. "Here, you read it. It's a lot like your handwriting."

"Rei! Don't be so mean!" She began to read Ranma's note. "Hey, you're right! This does look a lot like mine!"

Makoto looked over Usagi's shoulder. "Barely legible..."

"...and there's no kanji..." Ami said from the other shoulder. This pile-on by her supposed friends sent Usagi into another short-lived cry.

"A warning, not orders," Cologne said. "The outcome of the next two battles will be the same whether he is there or not. You are strong enough to stand on your own. Although I worry about your habit of meeting the Dark Kingdom's victims just as they are being targeted. I should wonder if they have someone like Ranma, or some tracker youma keeping an eye on your movements and associations."

"I should have sensed if any youma were around," Rei said.

"A weaker one, possibly. Youma not given cloaking spells or means of keeping under your senses. We can't assume they don't have them, or won't commit them."

Ami pulled out her computer and began to work. "I'll see if I can scan for enemy agents," she said. "But I'll need proper data to work with. I'll start taking more readings from our enemies when I can."

Ranma's warning proved to be right. An animator they met that day started showing a telltale change of mood overnight. The following night they easily dispatched the youma that erupted from her pencil.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You look like you have a hot date," Akane said.

Nabiki checked herself in the mirror. Sufficiently formal dress, makeup just right... "Hottest ticket of the year. Embassy downtown. I had to call in a lot of markers to get in."

"I don't even want to know." Akane wondered if her sister were getting in too deep with Yakuza.

"Glamourous. I wonder if I could get into someplace like that...?" Her eyes danced with visions of herself as the belle of the ball.

"Well, as it happens there's a boy from our school who could get in. He'd even want you as his date..."

"Ewww. Not at that price, thank you. One date with Kuno was enough."

On her way out she noticed Ranma and Happosai in their usual antics. "I almost envy them, taking up all the attention in this town these days. There ARE other people living here, after all. Not everything important has to involve Ranma."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hobnobbing with the rich and famous was a privilege not entirely unknown to Nabiki Tendo. It was, however, still rare enough that she wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

Her date was one of a growing number of rich sons around the Tokyo area who would find his new girlfriend was a little too high maintenance to be worth the trouble. She would end up tiring of him, dumping him, and move on to the next one. She hoped to only run through four or five more before graduation, then marry the next one convenient. Social engagements like this were a good scouting ground for her next marks.

She had some sense of who was fair game, who was a waste of time, and who to avoid. She'd heard frightening things about that Saudi prince, for example. And that Thai businessman... he might be connected to a few Triads. On the other hand, there were several sons of zaibatsu board members floating about...

There was a commotion at the other end of the room. Some girl got wine spilled on her dress and went to find the restroom to clean it. Wait a minute... wasn't that Sailor Moon in civilian guise? Nabiki would know that hairstyle anywhere, and from her spying she knew that the Pretty Soldier looked like any other black-haired Japanese girl when not in costume.

She wondered if she should introduce herself. After all, if these were the people Ranma was working with, they probably should get to know each other eventually. She let the idea stew in her mind as she pretended to listen to some diplomatic wives drivel on about little that really mattered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Honestly! That baka!" Mars fumed. "She just had to go in there for herself and get in on the ball! If she gets hurt by a youma it'll be her own fault."

"But Ranma's warning didn't say anything about not going inside..." Mercury said.

"Maybe not, but it's still smarter to stay out here," Luna said. "We know when Nephrite will be out here. We just need to wait."

They were in a good position to do so. The paparazzi had for once not noticed them, even though they were just across the street. The crowd out front was in everyone's way. With their ability to leap two stories in a single bound, the crowds and the embassy guards wouldn't be able to stop them from getting in once the action started.

"Speaking of waiting..." Jupiter looked about. "Has anyone seen Tuxedo Mask?"

None of them had. "He's got to be in there looking after Usagi," Mars knew. "Should we go in after him? We can't afford to lose both of them."

"I don't blame him," Jupiter said. "Besides, if Nephrite finds them, they should be able to hold him off until we get there."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Mamoru said as he danced with Usagi. She had used her disguise pen to conjure up a suitable dress, and he had simply transformed to his usual tuxedo. Usagi had wanted to come brazenly through the front gate - as if she could just conjure up some fake country name and get passed through - but he had talked sense into her, and they had come in through the roof. For some reason security was lax there.

"I feel like we've done this before..." Usagi was getting lost in resurfaced memories herself. "There were so many court balls... but that last one..." She suddenly broke out in tears, remembering why it had been the last.

They were mercifully interrupted by the alarm. They looked about, ready to face a youma. Luna ran up into Usagi's arms. "Usagi-chan, we've got trouble! Princess Dia took the treasure and is heading out to the balcony."

They intercepted the Princess at the balcony, but Usagi chose the wrong way to do it. The Princess threw her over the railing; Tuxedo Mask narrowly saved her, leaving him holding her and neither of them in position to stop the possessed girl. Tuxedo Mask strained at the weight. "*Lifting her up might take too long... if I can just swing her over to the balcony below...*

He didn't even have that long. The Princess gave him a shove from behind; they both went falling to the street below. Luna narrowly reached them in time, throwing Usagi her accessory umbrella. She opened it and parachuted them down to the entry walk. Tuxedo Mask supposed the umbrella had some enchantment; a normal one would not have slowed their fall signifigantly.

Down on the street, the other Senshi sweatdropped. "Usagi no baka!" Mars said again. "Looks like we have to save her bacon again." They all leapt cars, crowds and fence to fire at Nephrite in the yard.

Nephrite's magical shielding was strong enough to take it. "Blast..." Faced with the full team - so far as he knew - he had to retreat.

"Usagi-chan! Hurry!" Mercury urged. Usagi transformed quickly and they ran back up to the dance floor to confront the Princess. They arrived to find the dancers unconscious at the feet of the Princess.

"Hold it!" Sailor Moon said. Now that everyone was here, she reasoned, she should properly introduce herself. "For Love and Justice, I'm Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon!"

"And Sailor Mercury!""Sailor Mars!""Sailor Jupiter!" the rest followed. Tuxedo Mask waited just outside the doors to the room, ready to intervene if the front line was in trouble. One of the dancers was out there with him, trying to hide behind some curtains. He admired her for having quicker reactions than the others.

"Demon who dares possess Princess Dia, prepare to meet your fate!" Sailor Moon proclaimed.

The possessed princess gave a low laugh. "I will have the secret treasure of the guinzuishou!" she said.

"The guinzuishou?" Luna said. "They're on to it?"

The princess summoned a wind to lower herself to the ground. The Senshi jumped down to follow. Mars cast an exorcism charm at her, as Sailor Moon prepared the Moon Stick as backup. The charm worked; a shadowy form with indistinct body and Nephrite's face appeared out of the girl's body, allowing it to collapse to the grass. "Suffer and die!" it said, throwing a dark wind at the Senshi.

They were all pressured, unable to move. "I'll do something about it!" Mercury said, and cast Shabon Spray. The winds stopped.

"Shame on you to possess the princess!" Sailor Moon said. "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" She tried her tiara first, which proved to be enough. The shadow dissolved.

Luna met with them as they made their way off afterward. "The youma said it was after the guinzuishou," she said. "So the Dark Kingdom now knows about it and is searching for it. But they don't know what Ranma told us about the Rainbow Crystals. We've got to beware for when they do."

Usagi was crying. "I wanna go back! That ball was so much fun! I was gonna try the punch..."

"That 'punch' would have had quite a kick, Usako," Mamoru warned. "You shouldn't be drinking stuff like that yet."

"Say what?" she asked. The other Senshi facefaulted.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nabiki walked out of the embassy, feeling lucky to be able to do so under her own power. She might just have avoided having her energy drained. Good thing she was from a martial arts family; her father had taught her well to size up situations. She had made her way out to the hall as soon as the Princess had appeared acting strangely.

She wondered what had stopped her from approaching the Senshi when she had the chance. They could have discussed Ranma, and their relationship, and who the Senshi were fighting, and if... she stopped there. If... what? What could she offer them? What might they offer her that they weren't delivering already - security from youma?

Nabiki sighed. She couldn't get in touch with Ryoga, Ranma wouldn't want Ukyo getting involved, and Cologne was no doubt already training these girls. Shampoo would be in reserve if they needed more muscle. Akane? She might be interested in helping; but that shadow the Senshi had just dispatched didn't seem like it would fall to raw strength.

No. Better to keep her distance, and convince her little sister to stay away as well. Like it or not, she had to admit Ranma probably knew what he was doing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kodachi was bored. She usually was, when Ryoga was not in town. Which was most of the time. She wondered what was wrong exactly with his sense of direction? Perhaps some neurological problem. She could refer him... no, *take him to see* a specialist.

The timer went off. She took her cookies out of the oven. Home Ec class was just not for her. She didn't need to do this sort of thing at school! She was learning just fine from the family chefs. Not so low class that she shouldn't associate with them, at least. She didn't want to be one of those pretty-but-useless society wives who depended on the help to do everything. She firmly believed a woman should show her love through her own handiwork - in crafts and other pursuits, such as her gymnastics.

Taste test - perfect. If only there were someone who could appreciate them. Her gaze drifted to the window. and who should be there but the Lost One himself?

"Oh teacher? I just remembered an urgent matter to which I must attend..." She doffed her apron and took out her ribbon and petals. "I shall be leaving early!"

The other students were left to pick black rose petals out of their cookies. The teacher made a note in her log: "Kodachi Kuno, leaving early..."

Outside, she caught up to Ryoga quickly. "I, at least, will not waste my efforts! I baked these and Ryoga will enjoy them! Oh, Ryoga-sama!"

Ryoga knew the laugh coming his way. "Oh no..." He ran, hoping to get lost before she made another attempt at feeding him drugged food.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I finally got it right!" Akane said. The Home Ec class schedule, common to all the area schools, had them making cookies. At Kasumi's urging, she had made some attempts the night before to warm up. She suspected Ranma had something to do with it as well, but he was out of sight so much these days with Happosai and possibly those Sailor girls she wouldn't know for sure.

The boys all wanted to taste test, of course; she was as popular as ever, even if they were no longer fighting her directly for a date. "In your dreams!" she taunted them. She was going to give these to Ranma - she figured his opinion could be trusted.

"Happiness for a woman lies solely in cooking for the man she loves," Kuno said. He was wearing a bib and carrying fork and spoon. "Akane Tendo... I shall make you happy!" He loomed close, brandishing his utensils.

"What, is saying "Can I have a cookie" too difficult for you?"

"Not like she'd give any to you anyhow," Ranma said as he landed on Kuno's head. "What kind are they supposed to be, anyhow?"

"Gingerbread. Try them!"

He did, knowing it wouldn't do too much harm. "Tastes like molasses. what are these shapes supposed to be? This one's... an octupus?

"No! It's a penguin!"

"... and a crab?"

"It's a lion!"

"I know. This one's a water flea!"

"It's a rabbit, you baka!"

"If these are your sculpting skills... you failed Art last year, didn't you?"

She bonked him over the head with a fire extinguisher. "Well, thanks for your OPINION..."

Kuno was now recovering. "Clearly, you know nothing of appreciating fine cooking. Akane, if you would permit me..."

Ranma stuffed a cookie in his mouth. "You wanted a taste. If you can put up with this, you deserve her."

Kuno chewed and swallowed. He began to break out in a sweat. Tears came to his eyes. "Glorious! A triumph of culinary arts!" He grabbed Akane's hands. "I should be prepared to help you hone your skills at any time."

"Man, he can shovel it..." Ranma mused as Akane was flustered. "You DO know he'd just have the family chefs do all the cooking? Especially for you."

An ominous shrill laugh came through the window. "GET HER AWAY FROM ME!" Ranma leaned out to see Ryoga being chased across the grounds by Kodachi.

"Well, well, if it isn''t my twisted sister," Tatewaki observed. "I pity that poor fool she has fixated herself upon."

"Better him than me," Ranma said. He began pitching cookies to the other boys who had asked Akane earlier.

"Ranma! What are you doing!" Akane grabbed the cookies back.

"Hey, if they weren't all that bad, why not let them?"

"Well, THANKS!" she said sarcastically, and left in a huff. Part of him was regretting making her a better cook; if she were as bad as ever, he could have fed them to Happosai and gotten some free time this evening.

Later that day pictures rained down over Nerima showing Ryoga in a compromsing position with Kodachi. Ranma decided he didn't want to know the full details.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I wonder what happened to Ukyo?" Akane wondered as she, Nabiki, and Ranma left school for the day. "Did she say she was going to be absent today?"

"Must be sick or something..." Ranma said, trying to make it sound like a guess. "We should check up on her."

They arrived at her shop to find it closed. Ukyo did indeed appear to be sick in bed. But it was no physical sickness. "You're depressed because your okonomiyaki sauce didn't come out right?" Akane asked.

"Oh, come on," Ranma said. "It can't be that bad."

She opened a sauce jar next to her and ladled out a sample. "Have a taste."

The three of them nearly lost their lunches. "Yeah, that's pretty bad..." Nabiki said.

"For a master of okonomiyaki to make such a mistake..." Ukyo proceeded to explain her attempt at making a secret sauce that took ten years to age properly.

"You mean... this is THAT sauce?" Ranma recalled.

"Oh... where did I go wrong...?" Ukyo settled into her bed, lost in her sorrow.

"Ahhh... heh heh..." Ranma scratched behind his head. "It may not have been you, exactly..."

"Ranma...?" The Tendos eyed him suspiciously.

"Okay, I sorta got impatient and tried to taste it the next day..." Ranma was getting red-faced. "I spilled it all... so I tried to make my own batch..."

Ukyo was shocked. She sat upright in bed now, depression turning to anger. "You WHAT?"

"Well, I didn't get a good look at that recipe as you were making it... I just tried to remember what you did..."

Ukyo was now burning with rage. "That sauce... I made that sauce as a test of MY skills... and YOU spilled it?" She reached for her baker's peel.

Ranma held his hands in front of himself defensively. "Hey, I was six! Kids do stupid stuff. And you were six, too... did you REALLY think it would turn out the first time? It might have tasted even WORSE!"

"RANMA NO BAKA!" Ukyo and Akane shouted together, smashing him out of the shop.

Ranma picked himself up. "HEY! I won't have a fiancee who treats me like that!"

"So then I won't be your fiancee! You might as well take Nabiki for all I care!"

"Are you sure about that?" Nabiki asked. "If you really want me to take him... I will."

"Go right ahead. Free of charge, even."

Nabiki's eyes turned to yen symbols. "Thank you!" Her voice quavered with excitement. She figured she'd just hit the jackpot.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The school was abuzz with talk the next day. "Ranma and Ukyo split?" "I hear he switched to Nabiki?" "Wow... an older woman..."

"I wonder how they found out?" Nabiki asked.

"Gosh, could it be because..." Akane pointed to flyers Nabiki was throwing to everyone.

Ukyo attended, making a show of looking away from Ranma. Certain other interested parties considered this confirmation enough.

Tatewaki Kuno descended upon Akane, arms open. "Come! Leap into my arms!"

"Morning, Kuno." Once again, his head was Ranma's landing pad.

Kuno recovered quickly. "Good morning, future brother-in-law!" He shook Ranma's hand vigorously.

"Who are you calling...?"

"Oh, yeah... that's right..." Nabiki said. She linked arms with Ranma.

"Yes!" Kuno exulted. "Brother and sister-in-laws! Akane will be mine!" Akane simply kicked him over the nearby rooftops.

"Akane... don't you think you'd want Ranma for yourself? Act now and he's yours for 500 yen!"

"I'm not for sale!" Ranma protested.

"I don't want him!" Akane said desperately.

At lunch several athletic club representatives came into Ranma's class. They handed Ranma a sheet with times and clubs listed. "Your schedule," they said.

"My schedule? Says who?"

"Your fiancee. We've all paid the rental fee."

"So now I'm a sports machine? She rents me out like a snowmobile or something?"

"Come on, Ranma!" the soccer rep said. "We can dominate our leagues with you!"

Ranma looked over the schedule. "She's pencilled me in for championships in the spring..." A vein popped on his forehead. "Pretty sure of herself that we'll last ...?"

That evening after dinner she handed him a newspaper sports section. "Let's see if you're any better for Cologne's training."

Ranma-chan pored over the listings for hours, crafting the schedule of 'wins,' some of which were actually losses. He saw Nabiki wouldn't be able to control herself, and pick too many winners. He didn't want a crusade against the Yakuza while the Dark Kingdom was still out there.

"Here you go," she said as she handed the final results over. She doused herself with a kettle to change. "That should keep you rolling in dough... if you can keep it."

"If I can keep it? Why wouldn't I be able to keep it?"

"Good spending habits seem to be hard to come by around here. You aren't much better than Happosai or our pops..."

"MY spending habits? I'll have you know I don't spend a single yen myself. My dates always pay for themselves."

"And I can't, since I have no income. So who are you going to be cheating on me with while I play the breadwinner of the family?"

"Cheating! You think I'm that kind of woman? Don't you know... my true feelings?"

"What true feelings? Isn't this all it takes for you?" He held up the bundle of rent money she had collected for his services.

Nabiki looked down, adopting a hurt expression. "I never thought I'd tell you this, but... for a very long time now... I've been in love with you, Ranma!"

Ranma paused at this. "L- love? You? You're kidding, right...?"

"I love you..."

*Jeez... she's a better actor than me, for sure...* Ranma thought.

Akane gasped. She was holding up a glass to the wall between her room and Nabiki's. She hadn't had to do it in a long time, as her sister had long since learned not to invite friends over to share secrets, but now... was she serious about the engagement? It didn't seem like her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

She asked about it the following morning, as Ranma was doing his workout. "I just thought you'd be happier, is all," she said. "Now that you know Nabiki's true feelings, I mean."

"Feh. In case you forgot, I'm still in training. It dosen't matter to me who I'm engaged to."

Right on cue, Nabiki came around the corner. "Oh, there you are! Good morning, Ranma!" She beamed a smile and handed him a towel to dry off the sweat of his workout.

Ranma was suddenly very awkward. "Uh... thu... thank you..."

"Oh. I didn't know you were there, Akane."

They both noticed Akane looking somewhat exasperated herself. Ranma wondered if she was beginning to envy her sister.

At school she had some reason. The horde of would-be daters had decided they had a chance again. "Akane Tendo, I challenge you!" "If I win, you go out with me!" She gave them a summary "Get lost!" and demolished them with her accustomed efficiency.

"So... Kuno gave them the go-ahead to fight again?" Ranma asked. "Some brother-in-law he'll be."

"So maybe you'd want to take her? You'd only have Kuno to deal with..." she suggested playfully.

"Are you saying you'd rather stick her with me? I've seen how she deals with annoyances." He looked at her sidelong. "So you WERE just kidding about saying you loved me last night, right...?"

Now Nabiki looked bashful. "You don't like older women?" She suddenly began crying onto her hands. "Oh, I'm too old!"

Ranma made clearing motions with his hands. "No! No... I don't care... about age... I..."

She got close to him. "Really?"

"About age? No. But I -"

She was suddenly all smiles. "Oh, Ranma! I'm so happy!"

Ranma now looked conflicted, turning his back and leaning against a tree. "Forgive me, Nabiki... but I fear that it simply isn't right... to continue this engagement..."

Shocked look. "At last I tell you of my love, and now... oh, how can I bear seeing you every day?"

Ranma held his position until he heard her dealing in the background. "3000 yen for a set of five!"

"When did you take those?" Ranma grabbed the pictures out of her hand.

"A girl does love to gaze upon the man she truly loves... even when he doesn't happen to be a man!"

"And selling them..."

"Only the duplicates!"

"There's an awful lot of them..." Ranma sweatdropped.

Just after school they met in the yard to walk home together. A voice came from a tree above. "Nabiki, take this!" An origami dart made with a thousand-yen note shot down into her hands.

"Shampoo...?" Ranma noted as the Chinese girl dropped down from her branch. "What are you doing here?"

Shampoo pointed to the note now in Nabiki's hands. "Is rental fee for Ranma." She grabbed Ranma's arm. "Now Ranma go to date with Shampoo...?"

"Uhm... I have a schedule..."

Shampoo brandished a mace at Nabiki. "She make schedule! She change!"

"Oh, no problem," Nabiki said, suddenly sweating. "You can have him now... the soccer team will just have to do without you."

"They paid," Ranma said. "You'll have to give them a refund."

Nabiki looked frightened, then disgusted. "Ranma... if you want to keep me as your fiancee... NEVER blaspheme like that to me again."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Later that day Nabiki found Akane moping in the shopping district. "What's with the end-of-the-world face?"

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, but I think I can guess. It's Ranma, isn't it? Admit it. You want a shot at him."

"With that jerk? No way!"

Nabiki tried to cheer Akane up by treating her to snacks at a shop. "What are you so serious about, Akane? I was only joking when I said I loved him!"

"You don't have to lie to me, Nabiki. I know you can be cold... heartless... and manipulative... but even you can't declare your love like that and not mean it!"

"Akane, please... for 1500 yen he's yours!"

"You don't have to put on an act for me."

A pause. She would be a hard sell. "What's so bad about him? He's a martial artist, like you..."

"So is Kuno. You don't see me falling into his arms."

"Well, better than Kuno, then. Isn't the main reason you hate him and all those boys at school about them throwing themselves at you? Ranma sure won't do that."

"That's the ONLY thing he has on them! Other than that, he's the same kind of obnoxious jerk."

"The same? Come on, sis... how do you REALLY see him? Macho blowhard? That's just what you'd get from any guy. They have their pride, you know. Insults everyone? That's force of habit. Him and his father... he just need the right deprogramming, if you ask me. And the only thing he understands is force - I sure can't do anything to him. You can."

"But I don't have to! Why should I if I have a choice?"

"DO you have a choice? If I decide to dump him, and Kasumi won't have him, you're low girl on the totem pole."

"You wouldn't!"

Nabiki shook her head. "Okay, maybe not. But still... aren't you the least bit curious as to what you could do with him?"

"No!"

Nabiki smiled, knowing her sister better than that. "Oh, is that so...?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At that same time, Shampoo was treating Ranma to a picnic in the park. "Ranma like Shampoo cooking?"

"Yeah! It's great!"

She snuggled close. "Shampoo happy! You no love money-girl?"

"We have an... understanding. She gets what she wants, I can give it to her. But everyone around here knows she's just playing around. Let her have her fun and when she gets tired..."

"Then Ranma belong Shampoo!"

"Well, she may try to dump me on Akane..."

"Violent pervert girl no good for Ranma. No know how to treat mans."

"Well, she knows how to treat the guys around HERE..."

"Shampoo know better how to be good wife. You marry Shampoo, you come live in village, be good Prophetess."

Ranma shook his head. "Why would I want that? My life is here, in Japan. I'm not giving all this up."

"Then we live here. Have daughter marry Tendo son. We come for advice."

"Cologne come up with that? That sounds like her."

She giggled. "Great-grandmother wise. She say as Prophetess you get what you want."

Ranma sighed. "I just want to be a man all the time... and these crazy people to leave me alone..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After the date he had more clubs to work with. He came home thoroughly exhausted and leaning on a pole. Nabiki glomped him as he came home. "Welcome home, darling!" The 'darling' drew stares from the rest of the household.

"Want to take a bath? I'll wash your back."

"What are you t-t-t-" he stammered out.

They both felt the rise of chi. Akane was giving off a low rumbling sound, like a stalking tiger. She soon deflated and stalked off in a huff.

She continued to sizzle through dinner. Nabiki kept her going by feeding Ranma. "I can feed myself!" he protested.

"What's the matter? We're engaged, aren't we?"

After dinner Akane moped in her room. "See if I care. Cuz I don't! Whatever happens between Ranma and Nabiki... it's not my problem!"

Nabiki's voice came through the wall, loud enough to be clear without a glass. "Hello, Ranma. Come on in." Some shuffling. Lower voice - now Akane did get out the glass. "Oh! Ranma, stop! We mustn't, not before the wedding!"

Akae couldn't stand it anymore. She burst into Nabiki's room. ""RAN-MAAA!" But Nabiki was alone.

"Heh. She falls for it." She fixed her gaze on her sister. "Now quit being so stubborn and buy him from me!"

"No way! Not for one yen! I keep telling you, I DON'T WANT HIM!"

"Well, you're obviously jealous. You want SOMEbody." She assumed a thoughtful look. "Okay, I'll admit... good men are kind of thin on the ground around here. You need to get out of Nerima. Cast your sights farther away. There's plenty of wards in Tokyo where the guys are actually not all crazy."

"I'm not LOOKING for a boyfriend!"

"Not looking, maybe, but if the right one came along..."

"Don't start with that. I get enough of that from Kasumi."

"She's right, you know. Let me ask you this: Where do you see yourself twenty years from now? You DO want to have children of your own, don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course, but..." She trailed off.

"But to do that you'd need a husband. You have to face it sooner or later, Akane. You need somebody. Even if Ranma isn't the one, he can use that power of his to help you find your Mr. Right. He says he's good at that kind of thing these days."

"I hope in twenty years YOU'RE married to Kuno." She stalked out, still steaming with jealousy.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next day Nabiki stayed after school to manage her business as Ranma and Akane found themselves walking home together. Ranma was sure it was deliberate.

Akane seemed uncomfortable about something. She looked up at him as he balanced on the fence along the canal. "Ranma... what do you think's going to happen to Nabiki?"

"She'll get what's coming to her. Someday. Not going to be my problem."

"She won't get hurt, will she?"

"She'll wake up one day and find all the money in the world won't fill the hole in her heart." He sounded like he was quoting something they read in Literature class.

"What about me? Will I find happiness?"

"Haven't looked."

She shoved him into the canal. "So take a look!"

Ranma-chan spluttered and climbed out of the canal. "Shoulda seen that coming..." Of course she had, the previous night. "You know it's gonna take a while. I can't see all the detail at a glance."

"Just... is there a man for me? Someone I can be happy with?"

"Some of the martial arts masters Pop trained me with said happiness has to come from within. No one is ready to be completed by their soulmate when they meet them. you have to grow together."

"Ranma... I never knew you knew so much about love."

"Yeah, well, Pop told me not to pay attention to that stuff. He wanted me to focus on my Arts. Didn't actually remember it until recently. It didn't mean anything until now."

"Growing together..." Akane wondered who she might be able to grow together with. Not Kuno, for certain.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next day Kasumi tried to persuade Nabiki to have a heart. "Why don't you just give Ranma up? Let him find whoever he wants?"

"I want to... but I can't. The truth is, I always HAVE been in love with Ranma."

"You're joking, right?"

"Yup."

"You shouldn't tease him like this."

"But it's so much fun."

"He'll be mad when he finds out."

"Do I care? He's such a scaredy cat. I've got nothing to worry about!"

Later that night Ranma barged into Nabiki's room. He proposed a date. "After all, we're engaged, aren't we?"

"I guess so."

"Or would you rather I date Akane?"

A gleam came to her eye. "Ten thousand yen."

"Nope. No amount of money is worth the grief."

"Hah! But what do you think of Akane? Honestly, I mean?"

Ranma knew Akane was listening through the wall. Good. He wanted her to hear this. "She can be cute... when she's not angry. Problem is, every little thing sets her off."

"So she's been under a lot of stress this year. She dosen't deal with pressure well. I've tried telling her high school is all about pressure. She just needs to work with it."

Ranma shook his head. "It's more than just dealing with idiots. Remember what I can do. I've seen visions of our life together. She gets angry at every real and imagined insult. For not complementing her the right way. For not noticing things I've had no business noticing until now. And you can't criticize her. It's like she gives no one the right to say anything she doesn't want to hear."

"Oh, she does. Kami-sama knows Kasumi and I have tried to tell her a lot of hard stuff. You just have to do it the right way. I know you're probably used to brutal honesty. You have to use a softer touch. Do any of your visions say you can learn to do that?"

"Oh, I can make an engagement work with her... but it's rough. A whole lot of work. For both of us. She has to meet me halfway."

"Two worlds coming together! A classic story of the Princess and the Barbarian!"

"Yeah, whatever. It's a whole lot of grief for both of us. And we don't HAVE to do it. There's lots of guys at school, starting with Kuno, who will love her just as she is. I can find her a guy like that who's not so aggressive he puts her off. And you know I have other options that are easier on me."

"So do that. Five thousand yen and you can have her!"

"Sorry. Not paying. Which means YOU'RE still it. Get ready for your date." And with that he left.

Nabiki chuckled. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That Saturday Ranma waited in a park with a dozen roses. Nabiki approached on a bicycle. He seemed too smug, like he felt he could win this. Little did he know, perhaps, that she had lured Shampoo into the park, supposedly to see Ranma. It was too easy.

She ran right over him. "Try and catch me!" she taunted. Right on cue, he gave chase. She dodged and weaved through other pedestrians, leading him toward Shampoo's position.

He didn't catch up. She went into a hedge maze, from an entrance where Shampoo could see. They both went in.

Nabiki had learned the layout of the maze beforehand. Turn right at this T, take a left branch, double back around... A hand reached through the hedge from her right. Ranma was reaching through. He thrust several times. *Is he trying to... hit me?*

He erupted through to her side. "You can't get away now! You've played with my feelings for the last time!"

"You mean... when I said I loved you?"

"It was all a joke to you, wasn't it?"

"Ranma... I'm a girl... do you think I'd joke about something like that? How COULD you!" She ran away in tears.

Just around a corner she gloated. "Heh! amateur. He may be cute... but he sure is DUMB! Hohohohohoho!"

"Oh, SO!" Ranma came over the hedge from behind her. "Now you're REALLY gonna pay!"

Nabiki led him around for another minute. She was hearing him pass on the other side of the hedge to her left when he suddenly stopped. "Ha ha! Nabiki! I've got you now!" There was the sudden sound of a lunge.

She flinched from the hedge, hoping to get away. But he wasn't coming through her side. She remembered the layout of the maze; his other side right now would be on the street...

She headed back and found her way out, hearing Ranma's voice continue to come. He must have grabbed Shampoo. Now he was in for it!

She could still hear his voice. "You can't fool me! Now everyone is gonna know the truth! I LOVE YOU... UCCHAN!"

She froze. Then she ran again, turning the corner.

It was true. Ranma had come through the hedge and was holding Ukyo. Both had 'gotcha' expressions on their faces.

Nabiki went red hot. "Ranma... what is the meaning of this?" Flames seemed to appear behind her.

"I should think it was obvious," came Kuno's voice. He and his posse, and a few other girls from school, were now coming up the street.

"Kuno? What are you doing here?"

"Witnessing a scene of love. They seem to have made up quite well, don't you think? In spite of your manipulation."

"But this is MY date. He should be holding ME!" Where was Shampoo? She should be the one in Ranma's arms, not Ukyo. Nabiki should be appearing the aggrieved party here.

"You were never serious, Nabiki," Ukyo said. "And we all knew it."

She produced Walkman and hit the play button. Nabiki's own words came out. "I was only joking when I said I loved him..."

"Lies!" She grabbed at the tape. But Kuno and others with the crowd had their own Walkmans. Her various confessions of intent were played back.

"Ranma was very generous. He gave us times and places to record your own words, that you might be made to eat them now."

Suddenly she went very cold. She could not believe she had forgotten who she was dealing with, what he was capable of.

"I see," she said in a frosty voice. "Looks like you win this round. But watch your back. You WILL pay for this."

She refused to look back as she stalked away. she could imagine the laughter. She didn't care so much that they knew she wasn't serious. It was the way he had revealed it. The player had gotten played at last.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That evening she went through her files, ready to dish dirt. And came up empty.

Pictures, recordings, notes, all gone. Film taken out of her camera. Her list of sports teams to bet on was still there, her money was safe. But she couldn't blackmail him immediately.

Fool. Such a fool she was. She should have known he would see everything. He must have been planning this for weeks. It left her stumped, though. How do you beat someone who can see your every move?

She noticed motion outside her window. A female form was taking off over the rooftops.

Suddenly it was obvious. She knew his blind spot.

She headed downstairs. She was in luck. Happosai was there. "Word of advice..."

"Nabiki...?" This was unusual. Why would SHE be talking to him? Usually the only daughter around here with the guts to approach him was Kasumi.

"You might want to follow Ranma tonight. I think he might have a hot date."

Happosai could fill in the blanks for himself. "A date! He should know he can't keep secrets like that from me!"

Nabiki smiled. With any luck Ranma should be in a bit of trouble next time he went hunting youma with the Sailor Senshi. And with even more luck, the Senshi would barbecue the old lech.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Note: One of my guiding principles is that any element of the Ranma and SM timelines not altered by Ranma or affected by butterflies set in motion by him will happen as in the relevant canon. Thus, while he may handle Happosai differently, he cannot control the fact that Happosai will appear at the scheduled time. Future arcs that should be kept in place by this rule include the Ryoga-goes-home arc (motivated by Checkers giving birth) and Principal Kuno's return.

As author, it is within my discretion to have Ranma scrap nearly all other arcs, but not being particularly gifted with imagination I will have Ranma allow them to happen in their time, though with his spin on them: the Love Pill scramble at the beach, the Super Soba noodles battle, the Ultimate Moxibustion incident, Akane's swim training, the Martial Arts Calligraphy drawn upon Ryoga, and the Wishbringer event.

- OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE - OMAKE -

Climax of another fic that deserves a hundred thousand words, but I sadly don't have time to do:

Sousou stood his ground, hyakuhekitou sword in hand, supreme among the toushi. He had broken the cycle at last, won at Red Cliffs, taken Seito. Only Nanyo now stood in the way of full unity.

Now Nanyo's champion stood in his way, facing him across the concrete. The circle of onlooking toushi around them were eager for the climax. This one small slip of a girl could not stand in their way.

"I do not bother to ask your surrender," he said. "You know what has to happen now. Fight as if you have a chance. In the end, you can't escape your destiny."

Across the duelling ground, his opponent, only sixteen, yet veteran of another series of duels elsewhere, faced him with unwavering resolve. She answered him with three words.

**"Zettai."** Pink hair blowing in a sudden gust of wind.

**"Unmei."** Cold blue eyes that showed no fear, no doubt, only grim determination.

**"Mokushiroku**.**"**

Dead silence. Dead calm. Then the quiet steps of her companion, a purple-haired Indian girl, as she drew up alongside.

"Yours or mine?" Anthy whispered.

"Mine," Utena said. "I'll kick his ass myself."

Ikki Tousen vs. Utena. Hyakuhekitou vs. soulsword. Who! Will! Win!

Well, it depends on how you interpret the fable that underlies Utena. I prefer to see it as going back much further than the magatama... and Anthy may have had a hand in their creation... and Utena just plain rocks.


	16. Showtime

Chapter 16: Showtime

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Three figures walked into a park that night: a wizened old crone on a gnarled wooden staff, a tall dark woman with a silver-cored tungsten one, and a medium-sized girl with sword and throwing knives. They approached a bench.

"This is the place?" Cologne asked.

Sailor Pluto pointed to a publicly visible clock with her staff. "Note the time." She shifted aim to another direction. "In six minutes our target comes from that direction and sits here." She tapped the walkway where she stood, beside the bench. "Ten minutes later a girl will come from the same direction and meet with him. Five more minutes and she leaves. She comes back twelve minutes later. She will hand him a gem. He will pull out another one and compare them. Shampoo, I need you to shoot them out of his hands."

Shampoo nodded. "Shampoo hit."

Pluto indicated another spot in the bushes. "I will be there to take the gems." She looked at Cologne. "You'll be on the street behind me. I'll pass the gems to you. Get them to safety while me and the Senshi deal with the rest."

"Shampoo help with fight too!"

"No," Cologne ordered. "You will withdraw and cover me. We may be followed."

"Actually, you won't," Pluto said. "She could help fight, but it isn't really necessary."

"Even so. Shampoo is with me."

Shampoo looked disappointed, but accepted. "Shampoo go."

Pluto nodded. "If we wait in the park he will sense us too soon. We wait at safe distances until the girl arrives the second time. Then we move."

They headed off to wait on the streets. The distances would be enough to tax their sprinting abilities, but Ranma-chan knew they would have enough energy to fight.

At the predicted time, Nephrite entered the park. Then Naru. She left five minutes later.

Ranma found it hard to contain her excitement. The Senshi were finally about to take control. Then it would be hard fighting to the end. Just as she liked it.

Naru came running back up the street.

"Showtime..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi hit the all-call code on her communicator as she ran on the streets. "Everyone! come quick! Nephrite is going after Naru-chan! He's lured her to a park!" She gave the address.

"Are you calling Ranma too?" Rei asked. Luna had only had gear for the Inner Senshi. Presumably the Outers had their own communicators somewhere they had not found.

"Forget him! This is NARU! She's our problem no matter what he's doing!"

She put the communicator away. She would have to talk to Ranma after this. He would have to start acting like a real Sailor Senshi. They would need his help to take down Nephrite. "He'll pay for taking advantage of Naru-chan's feelings for him!"

"Usagi-chan, transform!" Luna prompted. Usagi did so, hoping she wasn't too late.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Here," Naru said, handing over the gem she had gotten from her mother's store. "Is this the right one?"

Nephrite pulled out the crystal he had summoned earlier that day, the one that should show the way to the guinzuishou. He held the two gems together, waiting for a reaction. Nothing happened. *The Dark Crystal isn't responding. Naru's is a mere crystal...*

Suddenly there was a blade sticking through his hand - a throwing knife. Another had knocked the two crystals away to the grass. Someone was already emerging from the bushes, grasping at them... a Senshi! How could they know -?

The Senshi was fast. A dark shape darting out from a few yards farther away along the bushes was faster. It scooped up the gems and skipped off. "Ooo, shinies!" it said in an old man's voice as it left.

Ranma-chan sat dumbfounded on the grass. "You gotta be kidding me... SON OF A -" She stood and began to charge after Happosai. "That's it. He's dead. DEAD! I'm gonna blast his ass to the Moon!"

"What the -?" Naru was stunned. She saw the Sailor Senshi running off after the old man, then Sailor Moon coming up behind her, gaze also distracted. "Sailor Moon? What are you doing here?"

"Sailor Pluto...?" Moon seemed as shocked as anyone. "What's going on here?"

A purple-haired girl dropped down out of the trees. "That what Shampoo want know." She also gave chase.

Naru turned to Nephrite. He had pulled the knife from his hand and was casting a healing chant on it. "Are you all right, Sanjoin-sama?"

"Hold it!" Sailor Moon said, temporarily dismissing the interlopers. She would have to ask what all that was about later. Right now her priority was saving her friend. She assumed her pose. "If you play with a girl's heart anymore, I'll bust you for romance fraud!"

Nephrite was in no mood to listen to one of her speeches. "Do not interfere!" He had stopped the bleeding; a full healing would have to wait. He fired a quick energy ball to knock Sailor Moon back several yards, then ran after the thief.

Naru rushed to Moon's side as she struggled to her feet. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Moon said. "But you were in danger! Naru-chan, don't be deceived! Masato Sanjoin is the alter-ego of Nephrite, a member of the evil Dark Kingdom!"

"That's not true!" Naru protested. "Sanjoin-sama can't be evil!" She began to run after him. Sailor Moon followed.

"Listen to me!" Moon insisted. "We've been fighting him for weeks! He's sent some of the youma that we've fought! Including the one that hurt your friend Rui! Ones that have hurt YOU! He's stolen your energy!"

"It's not true!" Tears came to her eyes. She kept running as hard as she could, but without magical enhancement or training she was left behind, huffing and puffing. She stopped on the street and broke out into a full cry. She didn't know what to think or believe anymore.

"Sanjoin-sama... why?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chasing Happosai was hard enough in the daytime; at night, Ranma-chan knew it would be futile. She wondered if it were even necessary - getting the crystal from him might be a pain, but she was sure either she or the Dark Kingdom could do it in the morning. Likely the Dark Kingdom, with their legions of female youma to tempt him. But if they followed their usual reaction time, she could have days to try for herself.

Suddenly Nephrite was astride her, teleporting to catch up. "You can't get away!" he shouted, firing an energy ball off directly at Happosai. The old freak dodged easily.

"Whooo-hooo-hoo! Got some power, do ya?" Happosai taunted. "Not going to catch me that way!" He bounded ahead. Nephrite fired several more shots, also dodged.

Eventually one of his dodges carried him aloft in an extended ballistic flight aimed at a landing on a street lamp, no doubt prelude to hitting the rooftops. Ballistic flight was a tactical error against Nephrite; Happosai could not avoid flying smack into the general's chest as he teleported in front. Nephrite quickly grabbed his crystal from the stunned old man and dropped him to the pavement.

Pluto came up to Happosai and stopped, staff aimed at Nephrite, as Tuxedo Mask took up position on the roof behind Nephrite. The others were soon coming up behind. "You're going down!"

Nephrite had what he wanted; no need to stick around and risk losing it again. "What airheads," he taunted. "Once I find the guinzuishou, the Dark Kingdom will rule this world! Your time as super heroines is running out. You may blab about love and justice until then. Farewell." He teleported away with a smirk.

Ranma quickly retrieved Naru's crystal from Happosai's hands and gave it to Sailor Moon. Then she quickly turned around and pointed her staff directly at his chest. Moon stopped her. "Pluto! What are you doing!"

"This is Happosai," she said. "The old lech I told you about. We can't have him interfere again. There's too much at stake." She shrugged off Moon's hand, only to find the old man already gone. Pluto sighed.

"You've got some explaining to do," Moon said. "What was all of this about? What did he have?"

"One second. Youma, ten o'clock." She pointed her staff up into the night, along the top of the building next to them. "DEAD SCREAM!" There was a cry, followed by a sprinkle of youma dust falling into the light of the street lamp.

She turned to the other Senshi. "Nephrite had a small black crystal that will draw the Rainbow Crystals out from their hosts. As long as the Dark Kingdom has it they can recover the Rainbow Crystals as fast as they can find the hosts - about one per week. But I already know where all the hosts are - if we get that crystal we can collect them in a day. It'll be a marathon around Tokyo, and whoever replaces Nephrite will probably send a dozen or so youma to stop us, but we can handle it... IF that old freak isn't around to get in the way."

"But he's still human! We don't kill people!" Sailor Moon insisted. "We'll just have to work around him."

"Huh. Fine. We'll try it your way. Nephrite won't last much longer, I think. But we've been delayed. I'll have to work out a new timeline. We have some time to work with - we can't acutally assemble all the Rainbow Crystals until Venus arrives anyway. All the Inner Senshi need to pool their powers to do it."

"You know, you could have just told us about this," Mars protested. "If we knew what was going on, Naru wouldn't have been in danger."

"She wasn't. Nephrite was trying to break up with her. And once he pocketed the crystal I wouldn't be able to get it away from him before he got away. It was the only way."

"Well, tell us what's going on from now on!" Jupiter said. "We should know when you're planning something."

"That's right!" Mercury said. "We don't need to be getting in each others' way."

"Don't worry," Pluto said. "From now on, I'm going to be with you all the way. This is showtime, guys. Things are heating up for the final battle. Once we get the guinzuishou, we can win." *And I can get my cure...*

"Then let's all be prepared," Tuxedo Mask said. "It's late. We should get to our homes. It sounds like there's a big day ahead."

They agreed to meet the next day, if possible, to discuss the new timeline. Ranma was already straining to see it. There was still a lot of interference. She wondered if she actually had the power to kill Happosai, even if she burned out her staff. Couldn't hurt to try, she figured. With him in the mix, this fight would stay evenly matched. That was fine in a fair fight, but this was war. She wanted every advantage she could get.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Nephrite teleported back into his mansion and sat on his throne. The Senshi had been ready for him again... far too ready. No one could have known where he would be or what he would do. But somehow they had. He wondered if Magnetite was right and he needed extra youma to handle them at equal numbers.

His thoughts drifted to the girl as he regarded the crystal. "Naru Osaka... Has she truly fallen in love with me?" He recalled her gaze, her soft words declaring her love. Ridiculous.

He shook his head. "How pointless." Something else nagged at him, though. "Sailor Moon knew her name. She may know Sailor Moon's true identity." A chance to restore himself in Beryl's good graces... not only would he have the guinzuishou, but he would eliminate the Senshi as a threat.

"Just you wait, Sailor Moon..."

He was so lost in his musings he did not notice Zoicite lurking behind a pillar. There, the Black Crystal that would show the way to the guinzuishou... Now his job would get much easier.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After school, Ranma arrived at Ucchan's at the usual time. This time Cologne and Shampoo were there as well. "Hey guys," he greeted them.

"Ranchan." Ukyo served him her usual fare. "So what's this about?"

"He has told you about his being with the Sailor Senshi?" Cologne asked.

"He showed me," she confirmed. "Really wild, if you ask me."

"There'll be a lot of fights coming soon," Ranma said. "I could use your help." *And your trust,* he thought.

"Sure. Anything I can help with."

"You won't be able to kill youma, but with our level of skills we shouldn't be in real danger. The thing I'm most worried about is Sailor Moon herself. She can be clumsy and a real ditz. She can use someone to keep an eye on her."

"A ditz? A super-heroine? Takes all kinds, I guess."

"Many celebrities aren't all they are made out to be," Cologne said.

"Moon not real fighter. Spoiled princess type," Shampoo supplied.

"Unfortunately, we need her for these next fights. There's a bunch of people around Tokyo who need to be cured of demonic possession. Only Moon can do that. And we can expect the Senshi's enemies, the Dark Kingdom, will send youma after some of these people to recruit them. And maybe just to cause chaos. We may be shifting around a lot."

"Are you going to ask Akane to help? She can take care of herself in a fight."

Ranma made a face. "Not unless I have to. She can be kinda clumsy herself..."

Ukyo shrugged. "I just saw her making some nasty faces at you in school. I thought maybe you got her angry somehow."

"She may have overheard some honest stuff I said. She can't handle the truth about herself yet."

"Lots of people like that, Ranchan."

"Lots of people don't hit you when you try to tell them. She's got anger issues."

Ukyo nodded. "So when does it all start?"

"Tonight, I think. I got a call to make first..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Naru-chan? Again?" Usagi asked.

"Nephrite isn't done with her. I think he's going to try to lure you out and find your true identity. There's another general going to be around too, looks like some kind of backstabbing going on. Things are going to be confusing."

"I tried warning Naru-chan to stay away from him... is she going to be all right?"

"We can have someone keep her away. She'll be safe. But..."

"But what? Is she going to be alright or not?"

"She's been in danger because she's been around you. That will keep happening. You should stay away from her for a while."

"No. She's my friend. I won't have you telling me who my friends can be."

"Suit yourself. Keep an eye on her, though."

Usagi hung up. So, Naru was in danger... because of her? As a friend, wasn't it her duty to keep Naru safe? Or should she be more supportive and stay close?

She shook her head and went to her room to get some early sleep. War, she reflected, was sure hard on friendships. She couldn't wait for them to win.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Zoicite requisitioned three youma?" Magnetite mused.

"He said it was for his job, searching for the guinzuishou," the spy youma reported.

"Where is he now?"

"Tokyo. Following Nephrite, as far as I could tell. It seemed as if he thought Nephrite had some means to getting the guinzuishou."

"Hm. Lucky him, able to finish off a rival and claim he was just doing his job. Follow them. Let's see if Nephrite contacts the Senshi again. If he does, do not engage. Report back to me."

"Understood." The spy went to her duties.

"Perhaps we will get some answers this time..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Tendos were finishing up dinner when a very unwelcome presence made itself known. "Ranma, my boy! I didn't know you had it in you!" The old master slapped Ranma on the back.

"Had what in him?" Genma asked.

"Cosplay! He was dressed up as one of those Sailor girls last night!"

The fathers looked at him. "Son," Genma said, "if you want to fight crime like that you need a manly costume!"

"He can't use my armor," Soun warned.

"Well, it looked to me more like he was ENGAGING in crime!" Happosai said. "He was stealing some gems!"

"Recovering them," Ranma said. "They were stolen property to begin with." Not true in the case of the Black Crystal, but they didn't need to know that.

"Oh, so? Will those other Sailor girls back you up?"

"I'm sure they will," Nabiki said. "He's one of them."

The fathers and Happosai turned to her. "One of them? For real? You know this?"

Nabiki nodded, as did Akane and Kasumi. "I found out several weeks ago. Akane and I followed him to a meeting with the Sailors in their hideout. We were worried he might be doing hentai things with them..."

"With girls that young?" Happosai was astounded. "You're into loli? Why, even I know my limits! You've got to wait until they're properly mature!"

"Well, I didn't!" Ranma said. "It was all monster fighting business."

"It didn't look that way to me..." Nabiki said, sounding like their activities were a bit more guilty than he let on.

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said. "You told me they were perfectly innocent!"

"Kasumi?" Soun asked. "You knew, too?"

"They told me afterward, father. I'm sorry for not telling you. They said it was important that you not know."

"And why not? Couldn't I be trusted?"

"You have to ask?" Nabiki said.

"You'd just tell Mr. Saotome, and he wouldn't be able to shut up about it," Akane said.

"You know it's true, pop," Ranma said.

"I know better than that!" Genma protested. "Do you think I want the world to know my son dresses like a little GIRL?" He came at Ranma to give him a dunking in the koi pond, but Ranma leapt out into the yard.

"So you knew what I was going to find?" Happosai asked Nabiki.

"More or less. I figured you'd get in his way a bit."

"Well, if he's going to be going after those girls, I figure it's my duty as a marital artist to protect them!"

"To save them for yourself when they get old enough?" Akane glared. Happosai didn't dignify that comment with an answer.

In the yard, Ranma lost his battle to avoid a dunking. Spluttering as she came up from the pond, she glared at Genma. "Well, since you all know, you might as well also know the Sailor Senshi's battles are the key to my cure. There's a few I have to fight in the next few days. Just stay out of my way." She went into the house and came out with her staff, then jumped to the rooftops and headed off into the night.

"Oh no you don't!" Genma took off in pursuit, followed by Happosai. "Get back here, Ranma! You should fight as a man! In a proper costume!"

"Like what? A tuxedo? That's taken!"

"Oh my, I hope he'll be all right," Kasumi said, worrying that fighting monsters might be harder than martial artists.

"Serves him right if he runs into an Overfiend," Akane said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan knew from experience her father and Happosai would not tire for hours. And as hard as Happosai was to chase in the dark, it would be at least that hard to elude him. She didn't have all night. She had no choice but to fight now.

"PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

Much easier to stay ahead now. Trying to visualize the battle would be futile with Happosai involved, and with her father backing him up it seemed they could keep her out of this one. She had to look for an opening...

It took a while to find one. She could get enough distance for one shot; it would have to count for both. Happosai would live to annoy another day. Ranma could deal with that.

"DEAD SCREAM!"

The shot caught Happosai in mid-leap, inches from the end of her staff. He shot like a cannonball into Genma's gut, the both of them sailing over the rooftops for blocks. Genma was certain to be out for the night. Happosai... she prayed he was too. Nothing to do now but head for Naru's house.

She bounded over the rooftops, hoping to get a better picture of the battle when she got there.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Glad you could make it, odango atama!" Mars chided. "You might have missed it."

"Well, I didn't! So there!" Moon stuck her tongue out.

"So when is Nephrite showing up?" Jupiter asked.

"Sometime in this half hour," Pluto said.

"That's... awfully vague, coming from you, Pluto," Moon said.

"I didn't have a lot of time to look. If I did we could set up another ambush."

"I am wondering if we should be this close," Cologne said. They were on Naru's street, hiding behind a nearby roof.

"If we were any farther, we wouldn't be able to stop Nephrite in time," Mercury said.

"But do we want to stop the abduction?"

"WHAT?" Moon was incredulous. "Of course we want to stop it! Why would you even ask?"

"Yeah!" Jupiter chimed in. "Why would we not save our friend?"

"I am not saying we should not save her, only that we should not fight here," Cologne said. "I am reminded of an old military axiom about ambushes and other nasty surprises. 'Once is an accident; twice is coincidence; three times is enemy action.' Meaning if we kill too many youma by sudden ambush, they will start to suspect our true capabilities."

"They already know we kick butt! We've killed every one we've faced."

"But usually we have not shown deep knowledge of who they are and what they are doing. Nothing to indicate we have the ability to see what they will do. Right now Pluto is our most important asset - more important than you, Sailor Moon. She provides the key to our victories - knowledge. If they were to realize what she can do, they will stop at nothing to overwhelm her, and all of us. We must play a close hand until we get the guinzuishou."

"If this works out," Pluto said, "they won't have time to think. We'll be in control, and they can't throw more than a dozen youma at us while we gather the crystals."

"Nephrite!" Mercury announced, looking down at Naru's house. The general had appeared floating outside her window.

Pluto readied her staff. "Okay. Ucchan, throw a flour bomb while Mercury casts Shabon Spray -"

"More!" Mercury said. She pointed to a building with a large, now unlit, neon sign. "Three youma there... and a general! There's two here?" Another ping in her visor. She looked toward a tree at the far end of the street. "And a fourth one just appeared over there. It's disappeared now."

"Reinforcements?" Mars asked. "They're working together now?"

"I was afraid of this," Cologne said. "They are already on to us."

"The three youma I saw," Pluto said, "but another general? And the fourth one. I'm not sure about. Something's fishy. I'll check it out -"

"No!" Cologne said. "Stay here. Keep down. Let's see what happens."

Nephrite did a short port into Naru's room. A light shone for a few seconds. Then he was outside again.

"Take him now?" Jupiter asked. Pluto shook her head.

Nephrite now spoke, apparently to Naru. "Masato Sanjoin is my disguise. My true name is Nephrite. I don't want to lie to you. Listen to me... You're a wonderful girl. Thanks to you, I found out what true love is. There is no love in the evil society I am in now. Everyone tries to betray each other and kill for their own advantage. I always thought that was natural. But your love has awakened me. I am thinking of fighting alongside Sailor Moon. If you know anything about Sailor Moon, I'd like to know."

Moon now did something rash. She stood up and announced herself boldly. "Hold it right there! You shouldn't be telling lies to young girls in love! You'll break their hearts! I'm the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon! And in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

Everyone else was sweatdropping. "Nice going, odango atama!" Mars said.

Pluto swept her feet with her staff. "I knew I needed more time to figure this out..." They were scattered as Nephrite fired a quick energy ball at them, smashing shingles off the roof they were on.

Then all hell broke loose.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite's spy took careful notes as the melee began. The girl with the polearm threw a bag at Nephrite that exploded in a cloud of dust; a second later Mercury's fog attack affected a larger area. Senshi scattered to either side and charged up their attacks. They converged at the center of the fogged area just as Nephrite appeared on the edge.

Zoicite's youma team was now flying down from their rooftop. No sign of Zoicite himself. The youma did not attack the Senshi; they fired at Nephrite - as expected, he was Zoicite's priority. Nephrite was partially caught by a cluster of bomblets, but took only minor damage. He was moving very fast now, launching himself at one of the Senshi as a girl wielding a pair of maces moved to shield her.

The Senshi with the staff was making her way around the dispersing cloud, coming close to the spy's own position. She remained absolutely still as the Senshi sighted along her staff and fired a blast. he aim seemed poor, an almost deliberate miss - but Nephrite dodged anyway, forcing him to be grazed by a lightning bolt.

A human girl now came out of the house Nephrite had been in. "Sanjoin-sama!" she called. Who was that? A question for later.

"Naru-chan!" Sailor Moon shouted. "Get back!" But it was too late. Nephrite had noticed her. He also called her name.

The youma attacking him had noticed. One of them flew down and grabbed her. Nephrite suddenly abandoned his own defense to appear beside the youma, giving it a gut-punch and sending it away. The Senshi held their fire, but the youma's companions had no reason to: they sent bombs and vines toward Nephrite. He shielded the girl with his body, protecting her from the bombs but getting pierced by the vines.

The vine youma broke off the ends of its vines. "We have you! The vines will drain off your energy until you die."

"What a miserable end," the bomb-thrower said.

"If you don't want the girl to get killed, hand over the Black Crystal," the third youma said.

The Senshi had something to say about that. The one with the staff aimed at them. "You won't hurt her!"

Lights were now on around the neighborhood. People were watching from their homes. This being Japan, no one here had a gun to join the fight. Many had cameras, however, and were filming the Senshi in action.

The other Senshi now joined the one with the staff on the ground, mere yards from Nephrite. All were ready to fire. The one in red trim whispered something to the one with the staff, who merely nodded back.

"We can afford to wait until he dies," the vine youma said. "Then we only have to fight you."

The spy almost chuckled to herself when Naru responded to this by trying to pull out the vines. She only got herself shocked, of course. nevertheless, she kept on trying.

The Senshi moved to her, not to pull her away but to help her. The one in green trim said "Let me try - I should be able to take it." She seemed to do better at resisting the electricity, but wasn't strong enough herself. The others joined in and succeeded in pulling out one vine.

"Amazing!" the vine youma said. "They would risk their own lives for Nephrite?"

"Then I'll finish them all off!" the bomb thrower said, firing a spray of bombs.

The one with the staff then held it level and rushed her companions, knocking them flat just as Nephrite turned his back to shield Naru. He took the brunt of the blasts. The other girls on the ground, the ones with the Senshi but not in costume, launched their own attacks - one firing some kind of thrown weapons, the other leaping with maces ready to smash. Neither had much effect: throwing blades were pulled out, to heal immediately, and mace smashes could not permanently deform them.

The smoke from the blasts began to clear. Now Zoicite appeared in person, floating off the street. He gestured, causing what seemed to be a piece of debris to float up to his grasp. "Well done. Now I have the Dark Crystal. Aren't you lucky you get to die with the girl you love?" He turned to his youma. "Finish them." He disappeared in a shower of petals.

The Senshi turned out to be far less hurt than Nephrite. The one with the staff shouted, "Ucchan! Flour!" The girl with the polearm threw another bag at Zoicite's youma, which blew up into a small cloud, giving the Senshi in blue trim time set up a more durable cloud area with her fog attack and the others to charge up their own attacks.

The spy never saw it coming. The one with the staff said "DEAD SCREAM!" Her attack had her whirl her staff around her body... but when it stopped it was pointing directly at her.

The attack caused the spy youma to produce its namesake.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Naru-chan! Are you all right?" Sailor Moon asked. Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter joined her in examining Naru as Pluto, Ukyo, and Shampoo stayed on guard for more youma. Cologne came out from her hiding place, not having known where the pressure points on a youma would be and unlikely to corner them into a Hiryu Shoten Ha when they preferred ranged attacks.

Naru proved to be unharmed; her pajamas were singed, but she had no burns herself. Nephrite, however, was fading fast - literally. His body was starting to dissolve into sparks. "I'm sorry, Naru-chan... I don't think we'll be able to get to know each other better... I'm glad I met you..."

Naru sobbed into the night as her first love faded away.


	17. Setups

Chapter 17: Set-ups

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Genma was still in a sour mood in the morning. He could take losing a fight to his son; that was what he was training him so hard for, after all. But to join a super-hero fight in that ridiculous costume - he did not see how the Saotome honor would survive. "We HAVE to get you a proper ninja suit," he said. "Or your own set of samurai armor."

"Do you know how much armor costs?" Soun said.

"Would you? Yours is a family heirloom," Genma pointed out.

"Oh, Nabiki prices everything in the house," Kasumi said. "Just in case we need to sell something to cover expenses."

"If we have to buy it, more than we can afford," Nabiki said. "If we're selling, less than we'd like."

"We are NOT selling it," Soun insisted.

"Didn't say we were..." Nabiki said.

"I can't do anything about the costume," Ranma said. "It comes with the powers."

"You shouldn't need those powers!" his father roared. "You should rely on your own strength."

"My powers are as reliable as my arms and legs," Ranma said. "Same principle."

"Can we skip all this heavy talk?" Akane asked. "I think we need a holiday to lighten things up."

"That's a good idea, Akane," Kasumi said. "It's going to be very warm this weekend. How about a trip to the beach?"

There was much support for that idea. Ranma had other concerns. "Anyone seen the old freak? Didn't he come back last night?" It was too much to hope that he was dead.

"He was gone when I came to last night," Genma said. "I would think one of his bolt-holes. He has a lot of places he can go if he doesn't want to stay here."

"Every dumpster in Tokyo..." Ranma said dismissively.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At school, there was talk about the Senshi battle from the previous night. Rumors flew that there was all kinds of video taken and at least one person had been killed, in addition to some monsters. Ranma and Ukyo tried to avoid talking about it, feigning disinterest.

Akane devoured every tidbit going around. She cornered Ranma at lunch. "So why didn't you invite me?" she asked. "Too much a princess?"

"We already got one princess who trips over her own feet," Ranma said. "We don't need two."

"Do I understand correctly?" Kuno again poked his head in class, being given to visiting Akane at lunch hours. "A princess of battle? Surely Akane would qualify! You should give her a chance to show the pretender how it is done."

"What's this about princesses?" Ukyo asked.

"Something Nabiki said when she was trying to fix me up with Ranma," Akane explained. "A 'Princess and Barbarian' matchup, wasn't it?" She looked at Ranma for admission.

"Ah yes," Kuno said. "As I recall my history, Chinese dynasties would sometimes marry their princesses off to barbarian chieftans to keep them from invading."

"Which meant the princesses had to learn to become barbarians," Ranma said. "Not the other way around."

"Which is what you'd try to do with Ranchan, no?" Ukyo asked.

"Well, that story would still work out well for her," Ranma said. "She'd be the barbarian..."

He didn't try to dodge the book-bashing over the head.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo was somewhat more subdued when Ranma got a chance to talk with her. "I think I see what you guys are up against," she said. "I could have killed a normal person with my attacks. Those things didn't even have the decency to bleed or stay cut."

"That's why they're Senshi business. You NEED magic to fight them. Shampoo can tell you more about it. Your best bet is to slow them down and block their vision. You actually helped a lot. Mercury can't fog an area as fast as you can, but she can do a wider area. Her power has been real important in our battles. Your moves can be too."

"Shampoo mentioned about using her sword next time, and trying to lop off heads..." She looked at Akane. "What about her? Could you teach her anything to help against youma?"

"She hasn't been interested in special attacks. She's seen me study mine, but she hasn't tried to match me. She has to realize she'll need some if she wants to fight on this level."

"I think she's going to find her way into a battle eventually. She'll keep at it until she finds one."

"Actually, I think she can get a real good power-up soon," Ranma said. "And I may need to ask her to step in for me. She ain't gonna like the side effects, though..."

Ukyo liked his evil grin.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The beach was crowded with people trying to enjoy the late days of summer. Ranma wondered at how appropriate it was to be enjoying sun, sand and surf when the Dark Kingdom still lurked about. It was at least some consolation that they would not start going after rainbow crystals for a few weeks.

"Drinks, anyone?" Kasumi said. "We should keep up our energy."

"Energy drinks? On a beach?" Ranma-chan asked. "You'd think the weather would be good enough to keep people awake."

"Haven't you been watching the news, baka?" Akane asked. "There's an epidemic going around."

"An epidemic? Since when? What kind?"

"Probably some virus," Nabiki said. "Causes energy loss. People getting tired very suddenly. Not just Japan - all over the world, it seems."

"Oh, yes," Kasumi added. "It can be quite bad. Lots of people are dying of it."

"Not in Tokyo," Akane said. "Well, not so much. Except when..." She looked at Ranma with suspicion. "When the Sailor Senshi are involved..."

Ranma-chan kept her voice down. "It's got to be the enemy. The Dark Kingdom. They want human energy to fuel their powers and launch their conquest. That's why I don't use chi attacks against them. The last thing you want to do with an enemy in the chi-farming business is give it to them free..."

"The embassy ball..." Nabiki remembered. "The youma drained all the dancers. I was almost one of them..." She shuddered in spite of the heat.

"We can keep the Tokyo area clear," Ranma said, "but it looks like they're rampant everywhere else. They must be getting a lot. And we'll have to go up against it at some point..."

"Looks like there's some people who have no problem keeping up their energy..." Akane said, pointing at a commotion coming up the beach.

It was Happosai. He was up to his usual tricks, carrying a bag of beach wear. A crowd of women wearing towels was after him. "Pervert! Give it back!"

"You senile delinquent!" Ranma jumped on the old hentai. She quickly divested him of his bag and handed the contents back to the pursuers.

This did not keep Happosai down for long. "Phooey! If I can't go treasure hunting, I'm going girl hunting!" He found a watermelon vendor and lifted a melon, which he hollowed out and used as a suit. He began hopping about the beach ladies again. "Pretty ladies! Wanna eat some watermelon?"

Ranma grabbed a bat and smashed him to the sand, destroying his melon-suit. "How do you do it? Keep up YOUR energy?" She had an uneasy feeling she knew.

"Where do you think? Blue skies! White clouds! Bright sun! I love the sea!"

"And the girls who come here..."

"Ahhh! I feel so young!" He turned around for a grope, temporarily getting Ranma paralyzed with disgust.

"There must be some way to calm him down..." *Then again,* she realized, *he doesn't have a grudge about me trying to Dead Scream him last night...* With luck, he didn't realize it was a serious attempt to kill him. Most things which would kill lesser men barely fazed him.

Cologne had decided to take the Nekohanten on the road to follow Ranma - and Happosai, now that he might be a threat to the war effort. Shampoo came up the beach with take-out cases of chilled ramen. "Nihao, Ranma!" She put down the cases and glomped Ranma-chan. "I so happy! Ranma come to beach after Shampoo!"

"YOU came after ME!"

"What are you two GIRLS doing?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, what?" Ukyo asked from nearby. "I came WITH Ranchan. You guys came on your own."

Ranma quickly moved to her side. "Yup. We're still together." This set Shampoo scowling at her rival.

"You two? An item?" Happosai now returned, frustrated so far in his attempts to enjoy the beach his way.

"Fiancees," Ukyo said, putting her arms around Ranma.

"Shampoo is fiancee!" Shampoo also glomped him.

"He must marry a Tendo!" Soun now said.

"Which one, Father?"

"He can drop dead, for all I care," Nabiki said icily.

"Ditto," Akane said.

"Well, that just leaves Kasumi. You don't have any objection, do you, dear?"

She didn't seem to notice the alarmed looks from her sisters. "I suppose not..."

"That's right!" Genma said. "Besides, she has the best cooking!"

Ranma mashed both fathers' faces into the sand. "And why should I marry someone just because YOU want me to? Can't we engage our children or something?"

"Well, as master of the Anything-Goes school," Happosai said, "I don't much care who Ranma marries. Though since you seem to have a lot of fiancees, I'll be glad to take the extras off your hands."

"No way!" Akane said reflexively. "Why don't you go date with Cologne? She's more your age?"

"What, that old sourpuss? I do recall I left her behind ages ago... oh, the tragedy of a young martial artist in training... no time for love..." He bagan to cry into his hands.

"I seem to recall it a bit differently," Cologne said, coming up the beach. "You hit on everyone in the village and we all rejected you. So you stole several of our treasures and ran off!" She was now burning with a substantial battle aura and lashed out with her staff. Happosai narrowly dodged.

"Now now! Why don't we let bygones be bygones? It was quite a while ago, and..."

"And you sold all of it?" Ranma finished. "Except maybe a piece or two." She now held up a bracelet with three jewels on it.

"Ah! My pretty! Give it back!" Happosai jumped for the bracelet. Ranma threw it behind himself to Shampoo before the old man could reach her.

"Great-Grandmother!" Shampoo now ran from Happosai, trying to pass it to Cologne. She just missed, as Happosai did a quick reverse and intercepted it in midair.

"You will return that heirloom!" Cologne said, rushing at Happosai.

He dropped a smoke grenade and disappeared from sight. "An heirloom, eh? Now I'll never return it!"

"You... you monster!" She turned to her great-granddaughter. "Shampoo, you must get that bracelet back before he discovers its secret! If you fail... this world will become a living hell!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shampoo changed into a one-piece bathing suit and presented herself as bait, sunning on a folding chair. The Tendos and Ranma waited nearby in ambush. Cologne was using a penguin-modelled ice shaver.

"So the secret of the bracelet is its love pills?" Akane asked.

"Correct," Cologne said. "Those 'jewels' are actually pills that make the swallower fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex they see!"

"It ain't so bad," Ranma-chan said. "The greenish one only lasts a few seconds. The bluish one is for a day."

Cologne looked at her in surprise. "That's right... only the last is for a lifetime... so you..."

"Ha ha! I heard it all!" Happosai's voice came from inside the shaver. It was a suit he was wearing. He burst out and took off, holding the bracelet.

"Curse you, Happy!" Cologne called after him as he headed down the beach. But she did not follow herself. "You knew. So did you...?"

Ranma held a finger to her lips. "Let's just see what he does," she said with a grin.

He was absent a while. Since he had their shaved ice maker, the assembled group decided to buy regular ice cream cones. "Do you think he's coming back?" Akane asked.

Ranma-chan looked worried. "I think he might have used them on someone else. Some random woman with no martial arts skills. We're too much trouble." She got up and looked around. "I'm going after him."

"I'm going with you, Ranchan," Ukyo said. They headed up the beach together, finishing their ice cream. They saw Shampoo and Akane going the other way, toward a rocky cove that offered some seclusion.

They soon found Happosai, bracelet now having empty sockets. "Well, well, my boy," he said. "Feeling anything yet?"

"Feeling what?" Ukyo asked. "What did you do?"

"The ice cream..." Ranma said. "You slipped the pills in our ice cream!"

"Right-o! Yours was the lifetime pill! So... when do we set the wedding date?"

"Ranchan! Don't look at him!" She put her hands over Ranma's eyes and began looking around frantically. "Close your eyes! We gotta find some hot water..."

Happosai jumped at Ukyo, prying her hands away. Ranma's eyes were closed; Happosai started throwing punches and kicks, as if in a training session. "Good thing your father hasn't given you blind-fighting training yet!"

"I guess we'll start now, then," Ranma chuckled, holding a guard stance. "Ucchan! Your grill! Use a sauce pan!"

"Right!" Ukyo ran to her grill, emptied a sauce pan, and took it fifty yards to the water, then carried it back to the grill to heat.

The fight had attracted attention; Cologne now came hopping up the beach. Genma and Soun were following in some anger. All jumped on Happosai and kept him away from Ranma long enough for Ukyo to heat the seawater just enough.

She splashed Ranma-chan with the water. "Okay. It should be safe to open your eyes," she said.

She spoke too soon. Happosai broke momentarily from his attackers and managed to hook Ranma's wrist, using his patented throw to send him spinning into the water. Ranma-chan came spluttering back up... and opened her eyes.

Happosai was there. "Yippee! You see me! Gimme a kiss!"

The party seemed to turn to stone. "Ranchan..." Ukyo cried plaintively. "Nooo..."

Ranma gave Happosai a smile... then a leer... then made an ugly face. "BLEEEH! Gotcha!"

"Gahh! Blast it! You didn't swallow!" Happosai was hopping mad. He looked around, stole a convenient energy drink from someone (who protested loudly) and shoved it in Ranma-chan's face. She swallowed several times. "Take that! Let's see if it works now!"

"Ahhh! That hit the spot!" Ranma said. She fixed Happosai with a hard gaze. "Did you really think it was gonna work on me?"

"Ranchan... you found the pill?" Ukyo was suddenly hopeful. "You hid it somewhere?"

"Dammit! I should have known... Where is it? In your suit?" Happosai began trying to invade Ranma-chan's suit. Naturally, he quickly got distracted by the curves and was hammered into submission. Genma and Soun found some netting to tie him up with.

Cologne gave a sigh of relief. "So. You must have seen all of this, then?"

"Not all the details," Ranma said. "Not how the old freak was going to act. But as long as there was a chance the bracelet was in play, I could find what pills were what."

"So where is your pill?" Ukyo asked.

"Destroyed it weeks ago, as soon as I could get to it. I didn't look too closely at the others, they were temporary."

"Nabiki got the thirty-second one," Soun said. "She started looking... strangely ... at a boy."

"Strangely? How strangely?"

"Well, strangely for her... she usually only looks like that when..."

Nabiki now came walking up the beach, looking mortified. "That... was the strangest thing," she said. "I was looking at this boy, and suddenly it was like he was made of money or something..."

"Then what about the last pill? The one that's good for a whole day?" Ukyo asked.

"I gave that to Akane," Happosai taunted. "I thought the two younger sisters needed a taste of love in their lives. I bet something permanent comes from this! A taste of love to blossom into true romance!"

Shampoo and Akane were now coming up the beach. Akane was hanging off the arm of none other than Tatewaki Kuno. "So, Kuno-sama, do you come to this beach to train often?"

"If this works out, I'd love to see it..." Nabiki said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So, Mister Know-It-All, where are they?" Usagi asked.

Ranma was in female form for this meeting at Hikawa Shrine, in case of strange questions she hadn't thought of; she might need to recheck the timeline. Everything was still foggy, as Happosai was going to be a factor now that he knew about Ranma's connection to the Senshi.

"I wouldn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves," she said. "We still gotta GET the Dark Crystal first."

"Granted," Cologne conceded. "But what are the enemy's chances of keeping it for all seven youma?"

"More than I'd like. Actually, things clear up a bit if I just distract Happosai and you guys just go for the Rainbow Crystals without going for the Dark Crystal. But that's also riskier - they will probably get a few crystals and we'll have to fight for 'em."

"Well, what if we CAN get the Dark Crystal?" Makoto asked. "Who actually has these Rainbow Crystals?"

"It makes sense to have contingiency plans," Ami said. She had a pad and paper and a series of maps, ready to take notes.

"Well... first one, actually, is the old man outside."

"My grandpa?" Rei was surprised. "He may be a bit of a hentai, but he's still a good man."

"None of the people are that bad. They have no idea what they are. It's just when they're exposed to the Dark Crystal their old natures resurface."

"Mm-hm. Who else?"

"Well... your grandfather is actually one of the last guys they would be going after, and then he'd show up on our doorstep. The first guy they'll do, the next fight we have, is a guy named Crane Joe. He uses a telekinetic power to clean up at crane games; he hits the Crown next week." She indicated on a close-up map where the fight would start.

"Second is a Catholic priest whose church is over here." She indicated the spot on the city map. "Then a kid who's just transferred into your school for a few weeks, Usagi. I get a clear image of him, but when I try to look at detailed fight strategies, I get headaches. He may have some kind of psychic power of his own."

"Headaches?" Cologne asked. "Do you see images start racing out of control?"

Ranma blinked. "Yeah. You know what it is?"

"It sounds like what happens when our hosts have tried looking at the actions of people who also had predictive powers of their own. None could compare to the Lady's sight, but the clash predictions can give feedback. You should not approach him yourself."

"Huh. Well, after him, there's an artist who lives here. Then a woman named Reika - I think she's tied to someone you guys know. They try to get her at an industrial site here. Then Rei's grandpa. Then the last one..." She shuddered. "I can't see the actual person, just the area they're in." She indcated the area on the map.

"Happosai?" Ami asked.

"No. I can't read it even if I can definitely see him somewhere else. Actually, it feels like what I see when there's cats involved."

"Someone with a cat," Usagi said. "Maybe Luna can help!"

Several people sweatdropped. "Why would you say that?" Makoto asked.

"Well, maybe it's a little old lady with a cat, and we can talk about being cat people..."

"But you're a Bunny..." Ranma said.

"Bunny people and cat people are a lot alike!"

"Since when?" Rei asked.

Cologne tried to keep the discussion on track. "We will just have to find it with our own resources. Bear in mind we want to keep Happosai as far away from you as possible, especially during these fights. For all we know Ranma may indeed be kept busy against Happi the whole time. Right now, we have enough information to try."

"Do we know who the new general is?" Ami asked.

"Name is Zoicite. Blond, bish, pretty much same deal as Nephrite. If we get the Dark Crystal from him, he tries another youma team, about six this time, all at once late in the day. And I think there may be another general involved as well, maybe an ally of his. It's gonna be tough."

"These generals are top-level martial artists themselves, as we saw with Nephrite," Cologne said. "We only defeated him with help from his rival. Now that they are working together, we will all need to be at our best. But we still have the advantage. If they knew about Ranma's ability to see the future, he would be seeing a much different future. They would be moving more cautiously, with more youma, and would certainly put off the guinzuishou to deal with us."

They all crossed their fingers and hoped the Dark Kingdom hadn't gotten a clue yet.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo was minding her own business when she saw him standing there at the entrance to her shop. "Mousse..." she said darkly.

"Ukyo Kuonji... betrothed of Ranma Saotome... now you will be my-" BONK.

Ranma and Cologne jumped down into the street. They quickly had Mousse trussed up with his own chain weapons. "So he did come..." Ukyo said as she joined them.

"Couldn't stay away, could he? Serves him right going up against me like this. Come on, let's get him someplace safe."

They took him to the back room of the Nekohanten, where they had a few casks of Jusenkyo water for men and women. And one for squirrels. "You'll want to be out of the room for this," Cologne warned Ranma as they placed Mousse in his old steel cage. Its bars were now augmented with chicken wire.

Ranma was out of sight in the back alley when Cologne splashed him. Once again he turned into a tiger. "But he was cured with the rest of us?" Ukyo wondered.

"He went back and got himself cursed again. Unusual care for him to make sure he got the right spring. He knew it was the only one that gave him the advantage over Ranma." She splashed a cask of Nannichuan on him, turning him human again and waking him up.

Ranma re-entered to find Mousse spluttering, then adjusting his glasses. He looked straight at Ranma. "Curse you, Saotome! I will have my revenge! I will have Shampoo!"

Shampoo now came in from the dining room. "Stupid Mousse. Put tail between legs and go back China." She dumped the cask of squirrel water over him. The squirrel came out of his clothes and grabbed the chicken wire, trying in futility to bend it.

In his clothes they had found a ticket for a circus passing through town. "I bet he's staying with these guys," Ranma said. "Better to check and see what his plan was." He knelt down and spoke to the squirrel. "No cures for you this time. You're out of this until the Lady's business is done."

Ranma splashed himself to change. "I haven't seen too clearly beyond this point. Let me see..." She looked ahead to a visit to the circus. "No allies waiting in ambush. Several kinds of water... donkey, elephant, water buffalo? Jeez. Doesn't he realize that would make you hard to fight, even for a tiger?"

"And he had to know we have spare waters now." She indicated the waters, now in steel casks. Not unbreakable to martial artists like them, but it would cut down on accidents.

"Oo, wait... there is a spare man water somewhere... I think we got to get this one. It's been mislabelled. It ends up in a girl's school across town."

"Hmm... wish I'd had that when I was hiding in a boy's school."

"I like you just the way you are."

"So, somebody's going to get popular over there?"

"Some social outcast. I think the 'wa' of the school is way different, though. I wouldn't exactly say we have all fun and games here, but over there... most of the girls lose their virginity, and a bunch of students and teachers end up pregnant." Ranma-chan shuddered at the thought.

"You're right. This is an emergency!" They took off across the rooftops.

In his cage, Mousse fumed. He wished he could use his Hidden Weapons Style in cat form. But his fur had been too short to conceal anything. Feathers might be long enough, but Ranma didn't fear birds.

He needed allies. Powerful allies to help him fight the unfightable foe. Someone who would provide the muscle, or would be willing to accept the curse of becoming a big cat - hmmm... might be possibilities, there, some visitors to Jusenkyo had been known to prefer that spring...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is the spot," Mamuoru said, checking the map. They were at a sunken ramp between a building and a parking garage. The building was screened by some landscaping with trees and bushes.

"Joe will be heading the way we're facing," Ranma-chan said. "He gets into about the middle of the ramp when Zoicite shows."

"Another ambush?" Ukyo suggested. "Like we did with Nephrite?"

"It's an ideal place for it," Cologne agreed. "We can have someone hide in the bushes and shoot the Dark Crystal out of his hands so it lands in the garage. The rest of us can hide among the cars and jump him to keep him occupied while we pass through and out the other side."

"We only get one more shot like that," Ranma said. "Zoicite has seen that trick once. If we try it again and fail, even he will have to start bringing extra youma for backup and our chances go way down. Ucchan, you're our best shot, you can do it again."

"Right!" She saluted with a smile.

"I'll jump him from above while the flour clouds his vision. Ami, you'll be casting again on the same mark. I'll have to grapple, so everyone else hold your fire until he throws me off. That will be when he teleports..." She paced out to the spot. "About twenty feet above here. By that time we should have the crystal out of sight and he'll have to go home and do a scrying to find it."

"That will only give us a few hours," Cologne warned. "We have to be ready to move when Ranma gives the order."

"It should be when we hit the second-to-last one. Zoicite will be under a lot of pressure. We'll have react fast."

"Just tell us when they're coming," Makoto said, making a fist. "We'll be ready."

"We'd better be," Ranma said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma was walking to school with Akane a few days later when the next attack came. "Hey, Akane, we're about to get hit."

Akane looked around. "But who?"

Ranma gestured up at the sky. "Tusbasa."

"RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!" They moved casually out of the way as a mailbox descended from the sky and smashed into the concrete.

"It's a mailbox!" Akane said.

"Tsubasa likes to dress up." The mailbox began charging him. He dodged like a matador, allowing the mailbox to smash into a utility pole. The pole broke and fell on top of the mailbox, which Tsubasa ripped his way out of.

"Ran..ma... ch... charrrr..." Tsubasa tried to make another charge sans costume, but fell unconscious.

"Didn't you say Tusbasa was a boy?" Akane asked, looking over what appeared to be a very feminine girl.

"Like I said, he likes to dress up."

"Heya, Ranchan." Ukyo joined them, then looked down at Tsubasa. "Ah, not him again. Dump him quick!" She and Ranma shoved him in a trash can which Ukyo batted out of sight with her spatula.

"He's gonna be around all this week," Ranma said.

"All week? Including the battle?"

"Yeah. He shouldn't get in the way too much..."

Ukyo got a gleam in her eye. "I may have an idea..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Next: The Hunt Begins


	18. The Hunt Begins

Chapter 18: The Hunt Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Beryl addressed her remaining generals - ones who would listen to orders, she hoped. "With the energy we have gathered, I was able to awaken our great ruler, Metallia. She told us we will need the guinzuishou to awaken her to full power. To find it we will need to awaken our seven greatest youma. When the Seven Great Youma accompanied by the Rainbow Crystals come back to the world, the guinzuishou will show itself."

"As I recall," Kunzite said, "our Seven Great Youma were sealed off by our hated enemy."

Beryl recalled the incident herself. "The legendary Seven great Youma... curse of our hated enemy. They have sealed the Seven Great Youma into the seven fragments of the guinzuishou and sent them to Earth. Those seven fragments are called the Rainbow Crystals."

"And what became of the youma?" Zoicite asked.

"They have been reincarnated as humans and lost their memory of being youma," Kunzite said.

"I see," Zoicite said. "If we remove the Rainbow Crystals from the reincarnated humans, we will have the guinzuishou."

"Furthermore, our Seven Great Youma will return as well," Beryl said. She motioned over her crystal ball. The Dark Crystal emerged, having been in her care since Zoicite returned with it weeks ago. She now sent it into Zoicite's hands. "I have modified it to respond to the Rainbow Crystals."

"Thank you, your majesty," Zoicite said, bowing his head. He projected his power into the crystal, setting it levitating inches from his outstretched hand.

It began to project an image. They saw an ordinary looking young man in T-shirt, jacket, and glasses, with a baseball cap worn backwards.

"One of the Rainbow Crystals is withing this human..." Zoicite said. He adjusted the projection to find where this human was.

"Be careful," Kunzite said. "That is within the area the Sailor Senshi have been fought. They have been very perceptive."

"Indeed," Magnetite said. "I recently lost one of my expert spy youma to them. I would not have thought they could penetrate its cloak." He did not mention the mission the youma was on was to spy on Zoicite.

"I am ever careful," Zoicite said. "But even if the Sailor Senshi find me, I am stronger than they are. I shall get this Rainbow Crystal in spite of them." He disappeared in a spiral of petals.

Magnetite and Kunzite returned to their duties. As soon as he arrived in his command center, Magnetite summoned another of his spies.

"Follow Zoicite. Be on your utmost caution. The Sailor Senshi were able to sense and kill the last spy I sent. I need you to return with good information."

"It will be done," the youma said, and vanished.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Residents of Nerima were being treated to an unusual spectacle: Happosai chasing an underwear-bag-laden Ranma-chan around the rooftops.

"Come back here with my treasures!" Happosai screamed.

"Stole them fair and square, did you?" Ranma laughed. If he she had judged her ability to keep ahead right...

Her path came to a street, too wide to jump at one go. Instead of coming down in the middle of the street, she fell short just beside a residential wall. Happosai came down in the middle of the street and turned backward to face Ranma - who wasn't there.

A very pretty girl was. Seeing Ranma nowhere around, Happosai did the natural thing and went for the easy score. "Pretty girl! Wanna give me a kiss?" GLOMP. "Ack! What's this...?" Suddenly he began coughing and wheezing.

It was no girl - though Tsubasa screamed like one. "EEEKK! What the hell are you doing, you weirdo!" He kicked the now-helpless hentai over the roofs.

Tsubasa then turned to the trash can the lady that had landed next to him had rudely pulled him from. He reached in through the top layer, grabbed a handful of hair, and pulled the woman up, still gripping the underwear bag. "And you! What were YOU doing dumping him on ME?"

Ranma-chan handed Tsubasa the bag. "Just doing my part as a champion of justice! You can return these to their rightful owners." She jumped away back to the rooftops, heading for the Zoicite battle.

Tsubasa watched her go with a bewildered look. Then he realized he had been left literally holding the bag.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Several of the gamers at the Crown Game Center had temporarily forgotten their own games as they took the opportunity to watch a master at work.

"That's Crane Joe," one of Usagi's classmates, a girl named Umi, told her. "He's a genius at playing the crane game. Any arcade he visits will lose every doll they have."

Usagi knew his secret - though she could understand why other onlookers could not believe their eyes when they saw it. Instead of making the final plunge with the crane when he got it inches from the dolls, he put a hand to the glass and used telekinetic power to lift his targets into its grasp. Small wonder he was so successful!

Joe cleaned out the crane game, as was his habit. Usagi and Makoto followed him as he lugged his bag of winnings home. When he made a turn to jump down to a sunken road next to a parking garage, they continued on and entered the garage.

Joe was stopped in his path by Zoicite appearing in front of him in a shower of petals. "What the -?"

"This will only take a minute," Zoicite said with a soft laugh. He held the Dark Crystal out to shine on Joe.

The reaction was immediate. Joe cried out in pain. It felt as if his very soul were being torn out. In a very real sense, it was. A black hole opened in his chest; a red crystal began to appear.

Behind Zoicite and around the corner, Sailor Pluto was tensed and ready to pounce. This was the decisive moment. Ukyo was in the bushes, Sailor Moon in the garage ready to purify Joe, Tuxedo Mask crouching next to her ready to take the Dark Crystal and pass it back to Cologne. It would all be over in a few seconds.

BONK.

"Ranma, my boy! What the heck are you doing out here? Playing Sailor girl again, I see. Is there a bad guy around? What about those other girls?"

Pluto smacked Happosai over the head with her staff and drop-kicked him out of the neighborhood.. She turned and leapt at Zoicite, but the general, warned by Happosai's outburst, had stopped his attack short and was now on guard. He dodged several punches before one connected.

Zoicite wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. "How dare you injure my face?"

"I'm gonna injure a lot more than that," Pluto said. She was seething; now Zoicite would be prepared. She launched into another series of attacks.

Joe was on the ground, clutching his chest. He made his way past the fighting warriors and down the street. Ukyo came out of her hiding spot, not having had an opening to fire, and hefted her spatula. "Ranchan! Hold him!" She made to whack the general over the head with her spatula, but Zoicite backed off and teleported away.

"Dammit!" Pluto fumed. "The old pervert recovered too fast. We're gonna have to do this the hard way."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Masked jumped down from the garage. "Pluto! Are you all right?"

"I'm pissed! We're gonna have to keep the old fart distracted."

"Where did Zoicite go?" Tuxedo Mask asked, trying to keep everyone focused.

Jupiter pointed from the garage. "I saw him head that way!"

"I'll follow with Ucchan. The rest of you stay back!" Pluto took off down the street in pursuit.

Joe entered a coffee shop. Pluto concentrated. "Zoicite will try there next."

"That looks too confined," Ukyo said. "There's too many people. Can we lead him out?"

"Yes. There's a park nearby that looks good."

They made their way back to the group and explained the plan. "We'll need Shampoo to force him out. The rest of us are going to a park nearby. I don't think we can get the Dark Crystal now, but we can get the Rainbow Crystal if we time it right."

They set up around the edges of the park, ready to converge. About ten minutes later, Joe came into the park, to be confronted by Zoicite. Now understanding the danger of the man, he cowered in fear. "Spare me!"

Zoicite gave a soft laugh. "There is no need to run. You are one of us."

"One of you?" Joe was too terrified to think. He just wanted this man gone.

Zoicite held out the Dark Crystal again. "I will have the Rainbow Crystal."

The hole opened again in Joe's chest. A red crystal floated out, heading for Zoicite's hand. It was halfway there when the array of spatulas came again.

Zoicite was a little more ready this time; he reflexively closed his hand on the Dark Crystal and lunged for the red one. He grasped it, then lost it again as Pluto tackled him. Pluto struggled to keep her grip. "It's loose! Grab it!"

People seemed to erupt from every angle. Tuxedo Mask, coming up from behind Joe, scooped up the crystal and threw it over the trees as Pluto wrestled Zoicite to facing upwards, where Shampoo and Ukyo hit him with their weapons. He cried out in pain.

Suddenly there were blades in his hands, blocking the assaulting weapons. Pluto's magical strength was not a match for Zoicite's; he broke free and quickly ported several meters straight up. He surveyed the field below: three Senshi and three other humans in varied dress, all at the ready to attack. Sailors Moon and Mars were not among them; the youma Joe was turning into should be able to take care of them. "You Senshi and your friends... you won't be able to defeat us! Youma Gesen, take care of them!" He disappeared, leaving spatulas and throwing knives to pass through his shower of petals.

A youma's death cry came from the trees. Mars and Moon came running up, just as Joe finished changing. "I sensed another extra youma," Mars said. "We took care of it. Is that... Joe?"

The youma activated a hammer on its wrist, extending it on a long cable for a long-range smash. They all dodged as it smashed down, pulverising concrete.

Pluto jumped on it immediately before the youma could retract it. It tried to anyway, pulling Pluto towards it, and getting a hundred blows in a few seconds as she arrived. Pluto jumped away from the stunned youma. "It's still not at full power! Sailor Moon! do your thing!"

"Right!" Moon pulled out the Moon Stick. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Waves of energy washed over the youma. Its form shimmered, becoming pure light. With a cry of "REFRESH!" it returned to the human Joe, who then fell unconscious to the pavement.

The assembled group remained on guard in case anything else was lurking about. "Is that all of them?" Jupiter asked.

"I don't sense anything," Mars said.

"Scan is all clear," Mercury said after checking her visor. She began checking Joe, and soon pronounced him healthy.

They left him on a park bench and began making their way away from the scene, detransforming. "It's over," Ranma-chan said with a sigh. "I was afraid of this. The old perv is just too resilient..."

Ukyo put a supportive hand on Ranma's shoulder. "It was worth a try, though."

"Yeah!" Usagi said. "We almost had them!"

"Next time for sure!" Makoto said.

"Next time will be next week. He'll come with a youma to keep us busy."

"Oh, I think we can deal with an extra youma or two," Mars said.

"Yeah!" Usagi chimed in. "Don't let this get you down! We got the first Rainbow Crystal, after all! If we can get all of them, we don't need the Dark Crystal for ourselves!"

"That's true," Ranma said. "Problem is, what are the odds we'll get them all...?"

"Well, with you looking ahead for us, won't we always have the best strategies?" Makoto asked.

"Not always," Ami said. "It takes time for him to see things. You can't check every possible contingency, can you?"

"Not every one," Ranma admitted. "Not in one week. I just hope I can check enough..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"There are seven Rainbow Crystals in total," Beryl was saying. "We must have all to gain possession of the guinzuishou. You are aware of that, are you not? And you dare let the Sailor Senshi have one?"

"I beg for your fogiveness," Zoicite pleaded.

"Not to be concerned, your majesty Beryl!" Kunzite came to take some pressure off. "They must enter our realm to take the rest. Their numbers will be useless. We will take possession then."

"Then, get on with locating the remaining crystals for the resurrection of our great ruler."

Zoicite projected another image from the crystal. It showed a man in what they recognized as a type of priest's outfit.

As they worked on pinning down his location, Magnetite headed off to his own command chamber, worrying about the loss of another spy. He did not have all that many to send to keep tabs on Zoicite.

An idea came to him. "Perhaps there is another way..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was a long week. Happosai, to start with, wanted to meet the Senshi for himself.

"Maybe if you want to feel what the youma go through..." Ranma said.

"But think how much help I can be! I can teach them some really great moves for beating monsters!"

"You'd just steal all their underwear and grope them all day long. They don't need the distraction."

"You know, Ranma, I actually understand if you want to play a warrior for Love and Justice. I'm sure you have a great sense of Justice..."

"Good enough to know I should keep YOU away from people."

Happosai ignored that. "But I think you need a lot of work on the Love part - which just happens to be one of my specialties, you know."

"Love... or Lust?" Ranma said sarcastically.

"You just don't have a FEEL for love! You really shouldn't have destroyed that pill. That would have given you the feelings you need!"

Akane overheard that. "Take it from me, feelings from drugs aren't real. I'm still trying to forget my day with Kuno..." She glared hard at Ranma. "Why didn't you destroy ALL the pills?"

"If you're trying to forget, then the feelings are staying with you!" Happosai pointed out. "The pill's only AWAKENED love in you! You should embrace it!"

"Like you'd know anything about love," Ranma said dismissively.

Happosai babbled much of the week on his long-lost loves, of which there seemed to be more than a few centuries' worth in a love life that couldn't have lasted more than three decades. Ranma, in fact, dismissed all of it as fantasy. The old pervert had clearly never had a real love life worthy of the term - he wouldn't have, given the way he behaved.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga showed up that week as well. Ranma noted Akane was more friendly toward him than she was to any other boy he knew of. He mentioned it to Kasumi.

"Why, yes, it does look like she's nice to him. She can be very nice, at times."

"You think it's because of what Nabiki says? She wants someone who's a friend first? I mean, he doesn't push her like anyone else around here. And with his curse gone, the only weird thing about him is getting lost all the time. That's more of a handicap than anything else."

It did seem to be food for thought. Akane persuaded Ryoga to stay largely in one spot near their bathroom, showing him the way to the main room so that he could eat dinner with everyone else.

It was during dinner that they saw a local color segment on the TV news. "In our 'People Search' segment today, we have an individual looking for her master. Checkers Hibiki, a four-year-old female dog, is here in our studio." The screen showed a dog, black on its left side, white on the right.

"Checkers!" Ryoga said.

"Is that your dog, Ryoga?" Akane asked. He nodded in response.

"She'd like her master to come home and see her new puppies..." The screen now showed the dog with a litter of puppies.

"Oo! What cute puppies!" Akane said.

"So... Checkers had puppies..." Ryoga became wistful. "I guess I have been away for a while."

"You actually have a home?" Nabiki asked. "I would have thought, as much as you get lost..."

"Oh, he has a home to go to," Ranma said. "I took him there about 300 times when he got lost. But yeah, he does spend more time on the road..."

"Well, then!" Akane said. "Why don't we all go to Ryoga's house?"

Ryoga paused at this. He was unused to a girl showing such concern over him. In fact, he was unused to being around girls at all; it was only recently that he was able to deal with them on a regular basis. "Ummm... sure... heh..."

Ranma sighed. "I guess it would be good if someone else knew where you lived. I really have better things to do than cart you around town..."

It wasn't that far to Ryoga's neighborhood. Once there, Akane wanted to stay for the day, to get to know Checkers. Ranma was glad to leave her there and head straight back to the Tendo home himself. He couldn't see anything else useful or fun he could do here.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite set the last camera in place and teleported to a field command station he had set up in an unused business several miles away. The security cameras he had bought were all working now. He would be able to see all the useful angles in the church, the graveyard around it, and some of the nearby streets and parks if the battle should move away from Zoicite's intended location. The mundane nature of the surveillance should help avoid detection by the Sailor Senshi.

It still grated on him that the Dark Kingdom should need anything of human manufacture. Given that it was needed, however, getting it was trivial. They had plenty of gems and mineral wealth to sell for cash, but even these were redundant. All it had taken was a few seconds of time applying his power to a computer in the basement of a major downtown bank, and he had enough electronic credit for any possible need.

He set the recording equipment going and went to other duties. Zoicite would make his move some time today; for security, he had not said exactly when. If the cameras were all destroyed before then... well, that would tell him something important in itself.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I have a question, Father," Mamoru said. Though not Christian himself, he knew the priest would hear out anyone with an honest concern. "Something of a philosophical problem."

"Go ahead."

"It's about these youma attacks, and the Sailor Senshi. About what they might mean."

"You feel they mean something? I should think they are just another form of crime. There should be nothing unusual about them."

"I've... seen some of the battles. There have been... things that I can only describe as magic involved. Has anyone else in your faith felt that? That there is magic at work?"

"I'm not sure you could call it magic. It may be some trick, or advanced technology. In a threatening situation, you may have seen things wrong."

"I've talked with other people, who think there is something more at work here. Some greater power. What if there is? What if what we call magic is real? Would you be able to accept it?"

"You should know our history. We did accept it for a long time. We can go back if need be. But much of what we know of magic was just an unsophisticated view of natural phenomena. I should think if there are unusual effects at work here, they will become part of our science in time."

"There's another thing I wonder, though. About what might be possible with these ... unusual... effects. A possibility of... healing people. Of... immortality." He couldn't mention what he remembered of the Silver Millennium, of a kingdom of magically immortal people... an immortality that might become possible again, on Earth, if the Senshi won and established a new magical Kingdom - a possibility Ranma and Cologne seemed to take seriously.

"I am aware of some doctors who think that our lifespans might be greatly extended by medical technology in the coming decades. But true immortality and happiness, as is offered by God, will only be His to offer."

"I seemed to recall your faith got its start among pagans who had a... poor view of the afterlife. One that was miserable and uncomfortable. Not a hell of endless tortures, necessarily, but not the paradise you offered."

"Some ancient peoples believed that. Others believed they were going to live in a better world, but many did think that the afterlife was no improvement over the living world."

"So that was a competitive advantage for you, wasn't it? You offered something they couldn't. Eternal life to those who thought existence ended at death, and unconditional eternal happiness for ordinary people who had lived mundane lives."

"Some might have found that an advantage. There were many reasons for conversion. Some tribes changed faiths through politics. Some saw their old faiths were not performing in times of crisis and tried our way."

"But could the same happen to you? If there were crises in the future, and your God was seen as not responding? If priests of some new faith appeared preaching immortality and happiness, not in Heaven but here on Earth, if they discarded you and chose them? Could you compete?"

The priest chuckled at this. "I think we would have to see if they could deliver on their promises first. And don't forget that God promises to offer immortality and happiness on Earth after a period of crisis. I don't know how seriously you might take apocalyptic prophecy, but there are sects that focus strongly on that."

Mamoru's watch beeped. It was time. "It seems I have an appointment, Father. But you've given me much to think about. Thank you for your time."

"Always glad to be of help."

Mamoru headed out of the yard and into some nearby woods and transformed to Tuxedo Mask. Any second now...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mars entered the church through the side door, out of breath from patrolling a wide arc around the area. "No lurkers," she said. "We're clear."

Shampoo was looking at the stained glass windows on the graveyard side of the church. "Shampoo not see why we no go through these." She thought the side door was too constricting.

"We can't do that!" Mars said. "You should have some respect for sacred ground."

"Everybody ready?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Let's do this!" Jupiter said.

"I just wish Ranma were here," Mercury said.

"Me too," Ukyo said. "But Ranchan is keeping Happosai busy. Zoicite isn't the only worry, you know."

"I wonder how he's doing it...?" Mars wondered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"THAT'S the Happo Fire-Burst?" Genma said.

"All this time, he had us terrified of FIREWORKS?" Soun raged. "Take this!" He threw a brassiere at his former master.

Happosai went for it, allowing the giant ball of explosives he had been riding to roll uncontrolled down the slope. He chased the bra to just short of a cliff and grabbed it, then turned around to stop the ball with a single finger. The fathers were amazed.

"Old freak, I gotta say, I'm impressed," Ranma-chan said, just before she kicked the ball off the cliff, and Happosai with it.

"Farewell, Master," Soun intoned.

"What a beautiful end," Genma added.

"Some master HE was," Akane said.

"I'm sure he'll be back," Ranma-chan said. "Too soon..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite teleported in mere feet from the priest, youma in tow. "The Senshi are in the church! Go in by the main doors and kill them!" he ordered.

"Main door!" the youma confirmed, heading there.

The general cast a ring of fire around himself and his target. The priest shrank from the flames. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Wouldn't you want to know more about yourself than me?"

"I'm an ordinary preacher."

"Or are you? The Dark Crystal will tell us your true form." He produced the crystal.

The priest screamed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the church, Mercury was looking at the timer in her visor. "Three... two... one... NOW!"

Sailor Moon charged up her tiara. "Moon Tiara Action!" She threw at the doors. She would be very embarrassed if the tiara got embedded in the doors when they didn't open.

But they did. The youma that came through was instantly cut in half. The rest of the Senshi and martial artists opened the side door that opened on the graveyard and charged out.

The orange Rainbow Crystal was floating toward Zoicite's hand. Shampoo threw a mace at it, knocking it out of the flame circle. Zoicite cursed, having hoped the flame circle would prevent this. He dropped the flames and looked for the crystal, finding it near a tombstone. "Ah hahahaha! Your ambush failed, Sailor Senshi! I have it!" He dove for it - and was rudely surprised again.

Tuxedo Mask came out of the woods, throwing a rose at the tombstone. It was a fake tombstone - it exploded into Ukyo's trademark tricks, batter-glue and rubber noodles to tie Zoicite up, flour to blind him, gunpowder to put on the hurt. While the general was distracted, Tuxedo Mask extended his cane. It had glue on the end of it, allowing him to snag the crystal.

Zoicite appeared several meters above the graveyard and cleared his face. He tried to see where the crsytal had gone -

"FIRE SOUL!" "SUPREME THUNDER!" "SHABON SPRAY!" "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Zoicite teleported again, seeing the last attack aimed at the emerging Youma Boxer, which turned back to human with a cry of "REFRESH!" More attacks began to track him across the sky, and there was no sign of the crystal. He had no choice.

"Damn you, Sailor Senshi... I need more youma..." He teleported away, seething with hatred.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Some hours after seeing Zoicite return much the worse for wear, Magnetite sat down at his surveillance camera monitoring station and looked at the tapes of the fight.

In the minutes before Zoicite arrived, several humans gathered in the church. A young man met the target in the graveyard and talked with him for several minutes, then left for the trees. Zoicite arrived, sent his youma to the church, and set up his wall of flames. He was not attacked as the Dark Crystal was exposed, but the Rainbow Crystal was hit by something coming from the church, something not stopped by mere flames.

He admired Zoicite, though he would never admit it; the blond general recovered quickly enough to go after the Rainbow Crystal, foiling the Senshi's plans. But then something totally strange happened: the tombstone near the crystal exploded, leaving Zoicite trapped in some sort of bindings and goop. Something reached out from out of view and took the crystal. Zoicite teleported out of his bindings, only to come under sustained assault in the air and forced to retreat.

Magnetite noted the crystal was taken in the direction the young man had gone. He switched tapes and looked at the camera for the woods, where he had suspected the Senshi might set up. It showed the young man going in, then his clothes phasing to a tuxedo.

"So... this must be the notorious Tuxedo Mask who helps the Sailor Senshi. Let's see what the church shows..." He switched to the tape of the church camera. Several young women entered; two remained in the pews while the others went into a side room. Seconds later, the Senshi emerged. Magnetite smiled; though the resolution of the images would not allow for identification by face, he now knew it was possible to get close enough to them for that. Another day, perhaps, with better cameras...

One of the Senshi left for several minutes and returned. Magnetite changed to a tape of one of the outside cameras to see her leave. He tracked her as she scouted the area. "Looking for my spies? Heh heh. This time I used spies your senses would not register..." He resumed monitoring the group in the church from the point where their patroller came back.

The youma tried to enter through the main doors; the Senshi, almost predictably by now sensed it coming and lay in ambush. "Hehe. You'll have to do better than that, Zoicite..."

Magnetite returned to the graveyard tape and reviewed the point where Zoicite was entangled again. A trap. "Clever... let's see when you set it." He moved back through the day and looked for the setting. He was surprised when it happened. "Only one trap? Were they just lucky, or that good?"

Either way, this looked to be a good way of keeping tabs on his rival's performance. Next time, perhaps, he would add microphones for sound, and try mounting angles that could get close-ups to see faces.

Not for the first time, he wished Beryl would let him operate in Juuban. Nephrite at one point seemed convinced Sailor Moon was a middle-school girl in disguise. If that theory had any merit, it should be possible to draw her out and track her to her home. And then their troubles with the Senshi would end quite suddenly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Going to be getting into original battles, which are fun to write. Strategically, things go off the rails until Venus arrives - again, a factor not under anyone's control at this point.


	19. Sailor Akane?

Chapter 19: Sailor Akane!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I bring item you request," the supplier said. He unloaded his cart at the rear door to the Nekohanten, checking his invoice. "Soy sauce. Hot oil. Dried mussel..."

Ranma came up the alley and hefted a crate. "These are for me."

Cologne looked at the label on the crate. "Kairaishi mushrooms? What would you need those for?"

"Medicine. For an old man," he said with an evil grin.

"Oh yes," Cologne said, sharing the grin. "Something to help him sleep..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You can actually see the future?" Ami asked. "That's how you ace tests? It sounds like the ultimate cheat-sheet!"

Ryo looked uncomfortable. "I'm trying not to use it that way. I mean... it helps when I'm not certain what an answer is, but I study hard to know the answers like I should. If I rely on it too much, I wouldn't be learning anything, and school would be just a waste of time." He looked down, trying to keep his eyes off of her. "I don't have full control, anyway. I see other things... daily events. People I meet. I've dreamed of you for a long time."

"Me?"

"Yes. I looked up to you as an ace student. I wanted to be like you, so I studied hard. But also... I've seen things about you..."

"You know I'm Sailor Mercury."

Ryo nodded. "And I know there's an evil man after me. He's going to try to turn me to evil, like him. I won't do it. I'd die before that happens."

"It happens tomorrow."

Ryo suddenly looked confused, then put a hand to his head. "Owww!"

"Are you all right?" Ami asked.

"I've been getting visions racing very fast lately... and sudden headaches. I think it's the evil man trying to block my power."

"No. It's one of us. Sailor Pluto."

"Sailor... Pluto? I don't think she's been in the press..."

"She keeps a low profile. She has a power like yours, she sees the future. What you're getting is feedback. Your power is conflicting with hers."

Understanding lit his face. "Ohhh. So it happens when I try to out-predict her?"

Ami nodded. She pulled a folded paper out of her book bag. "Read this, when you can. It has everything on it. It may hurt to read, but you can get through it if you try." She started to walk away, then turned back. "Hang in there, Ryo-kun. Everything will get better soon." She headed down the street.

Ryo retired to a park and unfolded the note. It was in Ami's handwriting. It told of his inner demon, the Rainbow Crystal, the need to get it out in order to cleanse him. And it told him what to do when the time came.

It was, as Ami said, a headache to read. But he strangely felt more hopeful than he had in weeks. He knew he could trust the Senshi. And he wanted to get to know Ami better.

Ryo went home to get some asprin and rest. He would need to be ready for tomorrow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"How I have awaited this day..." Happosai gloated as he sat down to eat his bowl of noodles. "How I've wanted this! Just one bowl... and I am invincible!"

The rest of the household sat down to dinner unsuspecting. Ranma seemed totally unaware of what Happosai had gotten hold of this past week. Now he could really teach the boy a lesson!

Unfortunately for him, as so often happened, he was betrayed by his own nature. The nightly news had just finished; the entertainment-focused program that came after now began showing a special segment. A swimsuit segment.

Everyone else in the house settled down to their own noodles, a more mundane recipe made by Kasumi. As it happened, Akane was sitting next to Happosai, and grabbed the wrong bowl of noodles. He, of course, did not notice until it was too late.

The rest of the family noticed it soon enough. Akane merely set her bowl down on the table. The force of the tap was now enough not only to break the table, but collapse the floor supports.

Happosai fixed Akane in his gaze, seeing her with his bowl. "So... it was YOU! You're the one who ate my Super Soba!"

The rest of the family was hard to convince. "Noodles that make you super strong?" Soun said. "How preposterous."

"The floor must've had dry rot," Ranma suspected. Though given the magic he had seen since getting cursed, he wasn't so sure.

"Well, this is an old house..." Kasumi admitted.

"Oh, well, no use crying over slurped soba," Happosai sighed. He leapt at Akane. "Just let me have a good cry in your bosom and I'll forgive you!"

"Oh, please. Don't you ever stop?" Akane held out a hand to block him. The force of the rebound threw him through the TV.

Akane looked down at her hands. "Wow. Maybe I really AM super!"

This smelled too fishy to Ranma. What were the odds that during the week he could not fight alongside the Senshi, not only because of Happosai but also the involvement of another prophet, Akane would get super-powered? Because there was on doubt what she would want to do. "The old man must be just playing with you," he said. "Come on. Arm wrestle me."

They got in stance. "Ready... set... GO!" WHAM. Hole in the floor.

After half a dozen defeats, he began to think someone up there hated him. He tried his best to divert her thinking. "Maybe you can break a few of the Furinkan sports records..."

Akane shook her head. "Come on, Ranma! I'm a super-hero now! I should be out there fighting monsters with the Sailor Senshi! What planet should I be?"

"All the planets are taken," Ranma said, holding his reservations about Saturn. "You'll have to be an asteroid."

"An asteroid? No way! I'll find something in the school library tomorrow! Kasumi, can you help me make a costume?"

"Of course, Akane. You'd look good in red..."

Ranma sighed. It looked like the bad guys were going to win this one.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This sucks!" Usagi whined. "We don't know ANYTHING about this battle!"

"Consider yourself lucky we know who they're going after next," Rei said. "That isn't exactly nothing, odango atama."

"But we don't know WHEN it's happening! Or WHERE! Or what kind of youma Zoicite will bring! Or where they're going to be..."

"Can it, Usagi! It's because of Ryo's power. We'll just have to make do."

"It is going to be a tough fight," Luna said. "Without the sort of detailed information Sailor Pluto can provide, we have to be ready for anything. I just wish we had and extra Senshi to help out..."

"You've got one!" said a strange voice from the door. All eyes turned to see Ukyo, Shampoo, and an umfamiliar girl in a red fuku similar to Mars' coming in.

"Sorry, guys," Ukyo said, hanging her head. "She insisted."

"Who are you?" Usagi asked.

"And where do you get off using MY colors?" Rei demanded.

Akane struck a pose. "I am the lovely sailor-suited avenger, Sailor Titan!"

"Sailor Titan?" the Inner Senshi all said together.

"Guys, meet Akane Tendo," Ukyo said, indicating with her hand. "One of the girls Ranchan is saying with."

"Oo, that family that his father is trying to marry him off to?" Usagi said. "So are you going to be the one?"

Akane gave an angry look. "There's no way I'd marry a jerk like him!"

"Jerk? He hasn't been so bad..." Usagi said.

"Don't bother," Ukyo said. "You had to be there..."

"So what kind of attack do you have?" Makoto asked.

Akane demonstrated a few karate moves. "I can break 6 cinder blocks!"

The Senshi sweatdropped. "Uhmm... we were thinking more of a super power," Usagi said.

"I'm super strong!" She went into the yard and hefted a few boulders in each hand.

"She meant MAGIC powers!" Luna said.

"What? You're getting picky? Super strength is a power! Just like Superman!"

"Superman is weak against magic enemies..." Rei mumbled.

"Forget it," Ukyo said. "We've been trying to tell her..."

"Violent girl no listen," Shampoo said. "Just hit."

"Well, maybe she can punch Zoicite out," Makoto said hopefully.

"Hmmm..." Luna wondered. "does he have anything to say about what strategy we should use?"

Ukyo shook her head. "Ranchan still can't see the details."

Shampoo handed over a sheet. "Great-grandmother give this."

The Senshi looked over the strategy written in Ukyo's handwriting, dictated by Cologne. It was not as detailed as one of Ranma's, but they were expecting that. "We can do this," Usagi said confidently. "You guys ready? Akane, you ready?"

"I'm always ready!" Akane made a fist.

"Let's go!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The wait was agonizing. Ryo had been waiting on the top level of the parking structure for over an hour. It was about the right time of night for Zoicite to show up, but he didn't know any more than that. Sailor Pluto, he was told, would have known to the second when, and to the inch where, Zoicite would appear. But because of HIM, Ryo Urawa, she couldn't know tonight. The heroes would have to be heroes on their own.

He tried to study for school, looking a little odd for studying in such a place. He couldn't get past the worry that there might not BE school for him tomorrow. Or worse, that he would show up and kill his friends and classmates.

He looked at the surrounding rooftops. The Senshi had said they were going to spread out around the area to cover all angles. Zoicite would appear above him, with youma to help, and the battle would be joined.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You had better not fail this time, Zoicite," Beryl said.

"I will have the Rainbow Crystal at the cost of my life, my queen," the general said, and saluted. He joined his selected youma and extended his teleportation power to encompass them. They all disappeared in a shower of petals.

They arrived in Tokyo on the roof of a tall building with a commanding view of the city. Zoicite produced the Dark Crystal and charged it with energy, allowing it to search out the next Rainbow Crystal carrier. An ordinary-looking schoolboy appeared. He began narrowing the location down.

Beryl had ordered him not to use the Dark Crystal until actually in Tokyo, ready to move. Only she and he knew of these orders. It pained Zoicite that even his beloved Kunzite had been kept in the dark about Beryl's plan. No one, even Kunzite, was above suspicion in her eyes. If Zoicite failed this time, in similar fashion, she would kill him and give Kunzite the job. No doubt she would think Kunzite's love was a sham to divert suspicion, and that Kunzite saw him as just another rival to plot against.

He pushed such thoughts from his mind. This crystal WOULD be theirs. Beryl would be pleased. All they had to do was get there before the Senshi could. It would be helpful if the carrier were far away, out of the Senshi's usual range, so that there would be no time for them to arrive. But the carrier would be where it was; they had to prepare in case it was in the Senshi's area.

It was. The boy seemed to be waiting on a parking structure. If the Senshi had some way to tap the crystal, they would be on their way now. But Zoicite would be faster yet. He teleported again with his youma in position.

They arrived in a circle around the boy. Zoicite raised a barrier of wind this time, the youma just outside it, facing outward, scanning for threats. He wasted no words on the boy, who stared at him as if knowing who he was and what was about to happen. He produced the crystal and exposed the boy to its emanations; the yellow Rainbow Crystal appeared and floated into his hand.

Outside the barrier of wind, the youma were hit with fire, lightning, and steel. He laughed as projectiles flew away from his wind barrier. And cried in surprise as the concrete deck of the parking structure beneath him exploded.

"GOTCHA!" Akane yelled, coming up through the hole she had punched in the deck. There he was, as described, a man in gray, almost handsome if he weren't an evil creep. They were surrounded by a wind barrier, but their plan had put Akane in the parking structure on the level below for just this sort of thing. Now the enemy was at her mercy. "Sailor Titan is here to stop you!"

"Another new one?" Zoicite said, dropping the wind barrier. "It dosen't matter how many of you there are. We will still def-"

Akane tried throwing all her strength into the punch; she caught Zoicite in the chest. Something seemed to retard her fist as it slammed into him, as if some force were absorbing her blow, but Zoicite still went sailing off over the rooftops and completely through the walls of a high-rise apartment. "YEAH! I got him!"

There was one youma surviving; it was bouncing around, jumping high in the air, trying to present a difficult target. Shampoo and Ukyo had no trouble perforating it with projectiles, but the Inner Senshi couldn't hit it with their attacks.

"Pin it down!" Mars said.

Mercury cast Shabon Spray. "That should slow it!"

"No it won't!" Akane said, seeing the youma flee outside of the fogged area. "It's running away! I'll get it!" She leapt after it.

"Great!" Makoto said. "Follow them!"

They did, but Akane seemed to be even more enhanced than they were; she opened distance, quickly catching up to the youma. She intercepted it in mid-air. "Take this!"

Her fist encountered none of the resistance it had with Zoicite; it went straight through the youma's chest. Akane withdrew her hand, shaking it off. "Ick! These things really aren't tough...' She felt faintly nauseous, as the monster looked too human for comfort; it was too close to killing a person for her.

A second later her disgust disappeared. The hole in the youma's chest closed up, leaving it cackling with glee. It tried grabbing her throat and choking her. "No you don't!" She pried its hands off and crushed them. The youma backed away, turning its crushed hands into blades and trying to stab. Akane dodged narrowly, getting her costume mostly cut off.

"ACK! Pervert!" Akane had her usual reaction to being disrobed in public. She lashed out again, this time with an open hand, pushing the youma away. Like Zoicite, it went through a building and out the other side.

The other Senshi caught up as Akane was trying to pick up her costume scraps and make herself decent. "Eep! I've never lost THAT much of my fuku before!" Jupiter said.

"Serves you right for copying mine," Mars exclaimed.

"I bet it's only a matter of time for you," Akane said. "You guys must go through a fortune in costumes..."

"Our transformations create them fresh every time," Mercury explained.

Akane was crestfallen. "You guys are so lucky..."

Mercury scanned the area. "The youma's still out there," she said. "On the next street over! Hurry! It's going to get away!"

The Inners took off after it. "Hey! What about me? I can't be seen on the street like this!" Akane shouted. Her costume scraps were now little more than a bikini. A far too sexy one.

"Take a break!" Mars said. "We have to stop it until Sailor Moon can get here!"

Moon arrived a few seconds later. "Are you okay, Akane?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I just wish I could crush that hentai thing myself!" She wrung her hands.

"Oh, don't worry. Only me and Ranma have powers strong enough to kill a youma on one shot. I think it takes Jupiter and Mars like four or five hits." She then looked at Akane's face curiously. "Ummm... are you sure your curse isn't coming back or something?"

"Why? Is something wrong with my face...?" Akane felt her cheeks. "Ack! What the heck-?"

Usagi giggled. "You've got whiskers! Maybe you're turning into a cat now!"

Akane broke down and cried. This super hero business wasn't what she had hoped.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite woke up in a pile of rubble and shook his head. He noticed he was covered in dust. Of all the disgrace. That girl was ridiculously strong! If his shields hadn't blunted the force of her punch - !

He remembered his mission. The Rainbow Crystal! He looked around for it. There, fifty meters down the street. Teleport over, scoop it up, and then back to the Dark Kingdom. The youma he would leave to its fate. Though he hoped it would take one of those damned Sailor Senshi down with it.

He appeared outside the great audience chamber, still covered in dust. But he held the crystal up proudly. "Queen Beryl-sama! I have recovered the Rainbow Crystal."

"The Sailor Senshi were there?" she asked.

"Nothing I could not deal with, my queen."

"The fact remains that they WERE there. They still know who the crystal carriers are as soon as we do!"

"They must have been lying in wait for some time. Their actions showed they were not as prepared as they have been. Your precautions were effective."

"Surely they must have their own way of finding the Rainbow Crystals, as well as tracking our movements," Kunzite said smoothly. "For now, we can enjoy our victory. Zoicite, we should get your wounds tended to..."

"Thank you, Kunzite-sama." The two disappeared together.

Magnetite also took his leave. He wished he could have monitored the battle, but he understood Beryl's concerns, and her precautions had been logical. Perhaps, however, he should risk observing a battle in person. If he were caught, Beryl would surely punish him. But if not... he might find what trick these Sailor Senshi were using to find the crystal carriers for themselves.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, well..." Ranma gloated. "Looks like those noodles weren't so hot after all."

"It's true what they say," Kasumi said. "There's no easy way to getting stronger."

"Psh!" Happosai said. "Those noodles were a perfectly easy way to becoming invincible - for men. Those whiskers would be no problem on a manly face! But dear Akane-chan, you shouldn't be risking your womanhood like that!"

"Yeah," Ranma said. "You train a hard as you do, and you wonder why you've got a tomboy body?"

Akane bopped him over the head. Fortunately, having eaten the cure for the Super Soba noodles, Ranma didn't get a head injury. Though she wasn't too sure that didn't also have something to do with the hardness of his head. "That's not fair! Shampoo is stronger than I am and she has a better figure!"

"Well, Akane," Kasumi said, "some people just have better genetics for that. You should just worry about being the best YOU can be and not worry about other people."

"Well," Ranma mused, "if there's noodles that can make you super-strong, maybe there's some kind of food that grows your breasts or something. I mean, I've seen the creams in the medicine cabinet -"

This time Akane's hit did put him through the wall. "That's ENOUGH, thank you!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Having been unable to predict much of the Senshi battle the previous week, Ranma had focused on events closer to home. It was well that he did. The next week had all of Furinkan High dealing with a menace with authority: their missing principal, who, it turned out, had been on sabbatical in Hawaii, apparently researching academic methods.

The students were assembled in the auditorium, where the principal, deeply tanned and wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and lei, explained the new rules. "All bruddas gotta get them buzz cuts! All sistas gotta get them bowl cuts!"

The students were enthusiastic in their response: "NO!" Ranma noted Nabiki was merely amused. She would be; she was already compliant with the rule.

"Eh, don' bus' up yet," the principal said. "I jus' getting started, yeah!"

If that was a start, the students didn't want him to finish. They threw shoes and sports balls at him. Then chairs and desks. Then the heavier gym equipment.

None of this got him down. He pointed to the rafters, where Akane was suspended, arms tied to a broom. "I know all about you, brudda! Ranma Saotome, homeroom 1-F, right? You wan' see you' waihine gettin' loose, yeah... you da first brudda gettin' dat buzz cut!"

Akane was not to be so easily contained. She broke the broom and came down on the principal with a kick. "And you call yourself the principal?"

"Bettah listen up now, keiki!" He held up a coconut. "Evahbody gona t'row some hands wit' me, yeah! Inside da coconut, dey like a pardon f'om de rules. Any brudda-sista get dis nut from me an' uncle principal don' bodda wid no haircut or da kine no more! You got t'ree days fo' do it! I like waitin' in my office!"

"He hasn't changed one bit..." one of the teachers said.

"He's always been like this?" one of the newer teaching assistants asked.

"He'll do anything to annoy the students," another longtime teacher said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Furinkan was a cookie-cutter postwar design school building; the principal's office in such buildings were in a fixed place, well-known to all students. Except at Furinkan those offices had long been converted to storage. The actual office of this principal was unknown.

Unknown to all but a few, at least. "So, Ranchan... where is it?" Ukyo stood ready for the fight to come.

Ranma moved to a section of the first floor hallway and stomped on it. It was a trap door. "Down there," he said.

"In the basement?" Akane said.

"Let's get this over with." Ranma dropped down into the darkness, followed by Ukyo and Akane.

The lights came on, revealing a vast space filled with a jungle. "Watch out," Ranma said. "Not all of the plants are fake - there's a few carnivorous ones."

They made their way through the jungle, being assaulted by teachers in animal suits. "The principal made us..."

"I-I've got three cubs of my own to feed..." one teacher in a lion suit said.

Other students were now flooding down into the basement, forming an army to back up the martial artists. They took to the palms, smashing open every coconut in sight. Ukyo and Akane stayed with Ranma, following him to a stilted bamboo hut at one end of the basement. "Up there," Ranma said, pointing up the ladder.

The army of students was close behind, for once grateful for the leadership of Tatewaki Kuno. "So long as I, Tatewaki Kuno, attent Furinkan High, no tyrannical haircut rule shall stand intact! Take THIS, dog of a principal!" He thrust his bokken at an Ranma, who dodged.

"Up THERE, you idiot!" Ranma said, kicking Kuno up to the hut. There, Kuno confronted the principal, bokken against shears.

"Shouldn't we go up and help him?" Akane asked.

"Give them a few minutes to get reacquainted," Ranma said.

"They know each other?" Ukyo said.

Ranma smiled. "Hint: What is the principal's name?" He looked at the teachers in animal suits.

"Ummm... Kuno," one of them admitted.

"You mean... they're father and son?" Akane said.

The combatants refused to believe it. "Dis ain't MY keiki," the principal said. "My son, Tatewaki..."

"Yes, Tatewaki!" Ranma said. "Who you're fighting now!"

"But Tatewaki was only 14!"

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"He been missin' three years now..." the principal said tearfully.

"The Tatewaki here is 17! Do the math!"

"But he's waaay shorter!"

"Gee... you think he stopped growing in three years?"

Tatewaki had his own objections. "It is true my father disappeared three years ago. And YOU look nothing like him!" He renewed his attacks.

One of the boys still up in the hut took a family photo off the desk and sent it down to the kendoist. "Eh? A photo of... my FATHER? How did you get this?"

The principal laughed. "Dat's a picture om me - three years ago!"

"You lie! My father's skin was far lighter than yours!"

"You suppose he got a TAN in Hawaii?" Ranma asked rhetorically.

Everyone else looking at the picture agreed it was the same man. Tatewaki still would not accept it. "Enough chatter!" he proclaimed. He raised his sword for a decisive strike. "Take this!"

The principal countered with dual shears, shredding the bokken blade. This greatly impressed everyone. Tatewaki was forced to realize the truth. "The very technique that took my hair three years ago... The Kuno family secret! The Wooden Sword Shredder!"

The principal gasped. "How do you know that name?"

The two separated and looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then they opened their arms.

"My Tacchi!"

"Daddy!"

They came together, and locked weapons again at the last moment. Ranma broke in. "I don't think this is going anywhere," he said. "Tell you what. If you can shave my head, you can shave theirs."

Ukyo, Akane, and the other students were shocked. "Ranchan..." Ukyo said. "You'd ... you'd make that sacrifice?"

"Hey, it's just hair. It'll grow back."

"Let him shave you," Tatewaki said. "He shall still not shave me!"

"You gonna get yours, Tacchi," the principal said as he thrust his shears at Ranma's head.

Ranma did not try to dodge. His hair came off, falling in great sheets on the ground. Except that it didn't. As the students looked, Ranma's hair grew back faster than it could be cut off.

"Dis ain't right," the principal said, and began cutting maniacally. Hair piled up to their ankles, knees, waist. Finally his shears were too dull to cut anymore.

Ranma dug through the piles of hair, having some trouble keeping his now flowing locks out of his eyes. He came up with his old pigtail, untied the binding on it, and retied his hair, cutting off the excess. "So... do I win?"

The principal was mortified. "Da hair can't be cut... it's a miracle... okay... I have lost. I'm sorry... I was so wrong..." He began to sob.

"As long as you admit it..." Ranma said.

"We'll forget about it," Akane said.

With the principal's defeat, school was finally able to start. As they made their way to class, Akane and Ukyo just had to know: "What's with your hair, Ranma? Why does it grow like that?"

"Something I ate in China. Before I was paying attention to my visions." He indicated the binding on his pigtail. "This is a Dragon's Whisker. Keeps the growth in check. If I let it grow too much, I get a lifetime's worth of growth in a week, and, well, my pop..."

Ukyo nodded. "He's bald. So you're going to be bald someday, too, aren't you?"

"I've always known that was gonna happen," he said. "I just don't want it to be premature."

He didn't see a need to say that the effect of the porridge would wear off before his follicles got exhausted. It would still be useful to have the fast growth in reserve in case the principal tried something like this again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"We have no cause for celebrations," Beryl said. "The Sailor Senshi still have two of the Rainbow Crystals, while we still have only one. Zoicite, how will you go about gaining the rest?"

"Queen Beryl-sama, Kunzite and I have been thinking about the Sailor Senshi's interference in our pursuit of the Rainbow Crystals," Zoicite said. "It seems they have their own way of finding who our Seven Great Youma are, and they have staked them out to be able to ambush us when we come."

"I fear we will be unable to gain the advantage of surprise," Kunzite said. "Teleporting in may play into their hands. I recommend we use their tendency toward ambush to our advantage."

"How so?" Beryl asked.

"We should use the Dark Crystal to find the next Rainbow Crystal and wait a day to scout the target and learn the territory. If the Senshi are indeed tapping the Dark Crystal, we can be assured they will be there. We can turn their ambush against them."

Zoicite explained further. "Once we know the terrain, we will know where they will be. I will take three youma and arrive at some distance, to move in by flight and surround one of their positions. The youma will engage the Senshi and distract them, leaving the crystal carrier defenseless."

Beryl was interested. "Let us see how this strategy of yours works. Bring me the Rainbow Crystal!"

Zoicite saluted. "It shall be done, my queen."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi looked over Yumeno Yumemi's shoulder as she continued to fill out details in her sketch. "That's me? I can't believe it!"

"Stay still," she told Mamoru, who was still sitting on the couch. He did as ordered.

Free to roam, Usagi began to look at Yumemi's other works not yet released. "These are so pretty. How can you draw wonderful pictures like this?"

"Whenever I draw, I pray those who see the picture will be happy. That they can find a wonderful love. That's why it's called the picture of love."

"Aren't you a nice lady, Yumemi-san? But you're all alone in exchange..." More to herself, she said, "I couldn't help with that. Yumemi is a very pretty lady."

"If people find out what I truly look like, it'll destroy everybody's dream."

"I don't think you can make everybody else happy if you can't make yourself happy as well," Mamoru said.

Yumemi seemed to realize truth in his words. She finished her sketch, and Mamoru joined Usagi in looking at a picture of a pair of lovers against a crescent moon. The woman seemed to be giving something to the man. The same pair appeared in several pictures.

"A scene of where a girl gives a sign of her love to her man. But whenever I draw these two, I feel so sentimental."

"I know your feeling," Mamoru said. "It feels so familiar to me, too. A lot of these pictures do. I wonder if there is more to your inspirations than just what you find in the world today."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like... you might be remembering a past life. A life I was in too. And some other people we know... we think we may have been in the same place once."

"Friends, reunited across time...? That's a romantic image. But I wouldn't know too much about such things. I just draw what comes to me."

She thanked them again for modelling for her. As they left, Mamoru looked around at the neighborhood, noting ambush points. "We should prepare for tomorrow. Ranma said he might be able to come with us."

"I hope so," Usagi said. "I don't want anything to happen to Yumemi-san. A good artist like her brightens everything so much."

They headed home to prepare themselves for the next night. If all went well, they knew Yumemi would be safe.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma was now caught between the principal in the daytime and Happosai at night. This made for a full schedule that would be difficult to get time to project Senshi battles. He made the most of this time.

The night of the next battle, Ranma casually sat down near Happosai as the old master sat smoking and watching TV. If he simply went out, the pervert would notice and follow him. But now, just when he was calm...

SNAP

One snap of the fingers and... "Out like a light," Ranma said softly; the old geezer had eaten his rice and vegetables earlier totally unsuspecting. He tiptoed out the door and took off for Juuban. Halfway there he transformed. Tonight, the Dark Kingdom would come for the fourth crystal, and the full complement of Senshi would meet them.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They met on a street in Yumemi's neighborhood. The Inner Senshi were excited when Pluto showed up. Sailor Moon was bouncing with enthusiasm. "Yay! Pluto's here! We can kick butt and get the Dark Crystal!"

"Not so fast," Pluto said. "Zoicite's getting smarter. He's not going to just teleport in this time. He appears close to here and comes in on the ground. If we set up around here we get surrounded."

"If he's going to arrive somewhere else, can we ambush him there?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"That's the plan," Pluto said, "but that doesn't mean things are going to be as clean as they have been. We can knock Zoicite out, but that leaves us vulnerable to the help he brings. We have to kill them first, and that means he gets the Rainbow Crystal again."

"What?" sailor Moon was aghast. "Isn't there any way we can get it for ourselves?"

"There's only so much a good strategy can do when your enemy is wising up and still overpowers you. I don't think we'll get any more crystals, but we have to try. That's when we win."

"I don't like the idea that we're definitely going to lose," Jupiter said. "It makes it seem like all we do is a waste of time."

"It's never a waste of time," Mercury said. "The world is counting on us!"

"Is always better to fight than cower," Shampoo said.

"Bushido," Ukyo said. "The warrior's code. We have to fight even if there's no chance."

"It's not like were going to die, right?" Mars asked Pluto.

"We have to look to our own safety a little bit if we want to go the distance in this fight," Pluto conceded. "As long as we win the final battle, that's what matters." She gestured with her staff to an apartment building. "He's going to appear over there in an hour. Let's be ready for him."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi waited in the girder frame of a building under construction.

"Ten seconds!" Mercury said. Then, "SHABON SPRAY!"

"DEAD SCREAM!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" "SUPREME THUNDER!" "FIRE SOUL!"

Zoicite appeared and was instantly choking on youma dust. He reflexively teleported in a random direction - tactical fighting straight out of Dark Kingdom combat drills. Training served him well just now.

"How did they know?" he shouted. "Never mind. They're over there, which means they are not at Yumemi's house. I have the Rainbow Crystal!" He headed there by a series of tactical random teleports.

Pluto jumped out of the fog to a nearby apartment building, several floors lower. She checked her future sight and lined up her shot. "DEAD SCREAM!"

The shot caught Zoicite full in the back; he was sent head-over-heels tumbling out of the sky, landing ungracefully on a roof one street over from the house. "Blasted Sesnhi!" he fumed. "They won't get this one!" He floated down to the house and smashed the front window with a wave of force.

Yumemi was there, screaming in surprise. "Who are you?"

Zoicite didn't answer. He sent waves of force around the studio, smashing everything, hoping to daze or knock out any potential ambushers. Satisfied he would not be disturbed, he grabbed Yumemi's unconscious form and flew up the street, where he shone the light of the Dark Crystal on her.

"Arise, Youma Vena!" She transformed into a seraphic figure, with pale skin and green hair. She stretched her wings. Zoicite began to relax. "This is going more smoothly now," he said.

"Not anymore!" Sailor Moon announced the arrival of her team. The Inner Senshi and the one with the staff were all there, ready to fire. "You won't take away the wonderful Yumemi-san! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

"And why should I be concerned? Go, Vena!" Zoicite kept looking around for more Senshi or crazy girls with weapons, fearing attack from any angle now.

Vena plucked feathers from her wings and sent them over the heads of the Senshi. They acted as drawing tools, creating images of force that became solid matter. Their drawings were simple rocks, falling on the heads of everyone present.

The Senshi with the staff dodged everything and gave Vena a whack over the head, which dazed her. "Sailor Moon!"

"Right! MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Zoicite was chagrined as Yumemi was restored. He blasted the Senshi with rose petals and summoned a jagged hunk of crystal, throwing it at Pluto. She burst out of the petal storm attack and deflected the crystal, heading toward Zoicite to fight hand-to-hand.

The general vanished, taking with him the prize of the night.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite was grateful for Zoicite's plan. In taking the time to get to know the territory for himself, he had allowed Magnetite to set up cameras again. Now, hours after the battle, Magnetite, reviewed the tapes to see how the Senshi had done this time.

What he saw dropped his jaw. They were charging up their attacks BEFORE Zoicite showed - timed so that they would kill the youma before they knew what hit them. There was no way they could have known to the second when Zoicite would appear - the Dark Kingdom did not schedule things so tightly.

The final nail was the long-range shot the one Senshi gave when Zoicite was doing tactical teleports. It was standard Dark Kingdom tactical training; Magnetite was intimately familiar, having sparred against his fellow warriors and generals in much the same way. The point was to be creative in combat, unpredictable, not knowing from one moment to the next where one would land. Yet this Senshi Pluto had fired at an exact point as if knowing that Zoicite would be there.

He sat there in shock for several minutes. There could be only one explanation, he realized. One reason for their opponents ambushing them so effectively.

He teleported back to his command chamber in the Dark Kingdom and strode out, walking down familiar corridors to a treasure chamber of which he was still keeper. Things that had been found here when the Dark Kingdom reawakened, things looted from the Moon Kingdom at the time of the Conquest thousands of years ago.

Their limited memories of the past did not include most of the treasures and artifacts stored in this room. Magnetite had been put in charge of investigating them, learning what they were, who had owned them, what secrets they might hold. None of the Royal regalia, those were all kept in the capital city on the Moon, the last place to fall, the disastrous battle they had not truly won. These were likely form noble estates and military posts on Earth and about the Solar System, picked up in the long series of battles that led to the Moon.

Many were mundane items, jewels and clothes and works of art, valued as ornaments or for the reputations of long-forgotten makers. Some were a little more: magical items, some of little power, a bracelet that protected against cold, a necklace against poison, a ring that created light, shoes to give energy for long walks. Those things that had real power were in the hands of youma trained in their use, or generals for strategic purposes, or Beryl herself.

Magnetite now strode to the back of the hall and regarded a tall glass case holding what was inarguably the most powerful item in the Dark Kingdom's possession, an item no one was properly attuned to use. A staff, fashioned of a seemingly random string of cylinders and spheres, with an ornate double-loop at the top - the loops heart-shaped, the smaller sitting in the corner of the larger. Along one side were clusters of irregular projections. The whole form gave the impression of a giant key.

The basic cylindrical and spherical components of the central staff had cores of magically charged crystals of immense power. The metals encasing them and forming the loops and projections were also of great magical susceptibility: the more mundane of them including chromium, palladium, and selenium. Most of the metals, however, were unearthly substances now found only in Silver Millenium artifacts.

The energies contained in the staff were startling not only for their sheer magintude, but their nature, and the nature they imparted to the matter holding them. The staff was literally out of phase with the flow of Time. It was surmised that, in the hands of its original wielder, it would allow time to be accelerated, slowed, stopped, reversed. Beryl was hopeful that it could open the way to actually travel in time, allowing their ancient defeat on the Moon to be reversed.

"We are not fighting enemies who sense where we are," he said to no one in particular, "but where we WILL BE. They do not merely know what we intend to do, but what we will ACTUALLY DO. Who know where the force of events will carry us."

He looked hard at the Time Key Staff, remembering the Senshi that had shot so unerringly, so...*presciently*... at Zoicite.

"I think I now know your owner..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Yes, it's cliche. Some cliches get started as simply logical or obvious developments. Given super-hero powers, Akane seems the type to try her hand at fighting evil. In the Ranmaverse, of course, the powers of the accomplished martial artists are not supposed to be all that superlative as to suggest vigilantism so readily. Then again, given the way their community asks for their help, they seem to be deputized already...

khim: Had no idea about any of your points. Was just making it up as I went along, sorry.

Next: Losses


	20. Losses

Chapter 20: Losses

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Put me to sleep like that, will he?" Happosai fumed. "Well, I have just the thing for HIM."

He stood poised on the roof of the Tendo home, looking over the edge. There the boy was, back to the yard, eating his noodles, wide open to attack. An unforgivable sin against his martial arts on top of the sins against him personally. He leapt down to teach a lesson. "Ranma! You shall burn... with moxibustion!"

"WEAAAHH! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Ranma hopped about as his back burned. "Whaddya think you're doin', old freak!" Of course he knew perfectly well what; but he had to act the part.

Happosai, for his part, did not stick around for the fun. He blew a hole in the roof and rocketed out. The fathers were left puzzled. "Interesting... all he did was burn him... and leave," Soun said.

"That's not like our evil master," Genma agreed.

The effects became apparent the next day. Ranma's back was still burning as Tatewaki Kuno ran toward him, just outside the school gates, for another attempt at taking him down. Ranma leapt at him, giving his now-trademark Boot To Da Face.

Kuno turned right around and bopped Ranma with his bokken. "You call that a kick? I barely felt it!"

"Then take THIS!" Ranma lauched a flurry of blows at the upperclasman's midsection. They seemed to have no force whatsoever. He was likewise unable to effectively block, and soon laid out on the street.

Kuno was in shock himself. "I beat... Ranma Saotome...and that means..." He glomped Akane. "YOU ARE MINE, AKANE TENDO!"

Akane kicked him away. She turned to Ranma. "Ranma, what's WRONG with you? How could you let HIM beat you?"

It was soon clear how: even a small child had the power to knock his head back, while Ranma's blows were only the merest taps. After school they checked in with Dr. Tofu.

The doctor noticed a mark on Ranma's back. "This burn mark! Can it be? The legendary technique said to have died a century ago... the "Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion? In the ancient texts, it says that anyone burned with this moxibustion, even the greatest martial artist, can be reduced to the weakness of a baby!"

As far as Dr. Tofu knew, there was no cure. "The moxibustion counter to the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion no longer exists." Implied was that Ranma was weak for the rest of his life.

Happosai wasted no time trumpeting his victory, throwing letters and leaflets around town advertising that Ranma was now weak. Ranma was soon running from both Kunos and the other boys who wanted Akane.

Oddly, it was Ryoga who stopped them. "I can't stand people who pick on the weak," he explained. "Your punches were like lightning bolts, Ranma... but now, you are only a shadow..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Dr. Tofu was not entirely stumped. He looked through his collection of moxibustion references for a lead. Eventually he found one. "According to the old texts, there's said to be a chart, in a remote hiding place, indicating the location in the body of the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion point. There's no reason to believe the chart won't list the cure as well!"

Ranma perked up when they told him. "I'll find that chart if I have to go to the ends of the earth!"

"I'll go with you!" Ukyo said. "Besides, since you're so weak, you can't possibly take over the Tendo dojo! Your engagement to them is moot!"

Soun shot her down quickly. "Akane can still teach, even if Ranma can't," he said.

"But he should still try to find a cure," Genma said. "We'll start with a few temples I know..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite had shown Kunzite the new target. "So how were you going to do it? The same as last time?" Kunzite asked.

Zoicite's expression grew hard. "I am tired of being ambushed by the Sailor Senshi. How can we distract them?"

"I have noticed only two of them is actually strong enough to kill a youma. And none has demonstrated ability to teleport. If you were to send your youma in first, and widely separated, you may have a chance."

Zoicite smiled. "Your ideas are always welcome..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Motoki and Reika were dumbfounded. "The monsters are after... me?" Reika asked.

"We'll protect you," Sailor Moon said. "You can count on us!" She didn't want to say that Reika would be okay, as that wasn't entirely true. She would have to spend a few seconds as a youma. Then again, Ryo and Yumemi-san had been fine afterward...

"We trust you," Motoki said. "What do we have to do?"

"Nothing special. Just leave everything to us!" She quickly took her leave and returned to her friends in the back alley behind the arcade.

"So what IS the plan for tonight?" Usagi said after detransforming.

Mamoru looked over the plan given by Cologne. "Zoicite should confront Reika and Motoki in an industrial district over here... Zoicite will come with three youma again, but the four of them will be separated by several blocks and flying a thousand feet up."

"That's out of our range," Rei said.

"Maybe not out of Makoto's," Ami said. "Mako-chan, how far can your lightning go?"

"Maybe a thousand feet. But even at close range I can't really kill with it with one shot." Makoto did not sound very enthusiastic tonight. Usagi didn't blame her, being depressed at finding Motoki was going steady. She had tried telling her that there were plenty of fish in the sea, but losing this one would probably weigh on her for a few days.

"Actually, Ranma's plan says we don't do anything until the crystal is out," Mamoru said. "Only Sailor Moon will be necessary. Reika will be left behind to cause damage. Zoicite will think she will have time to grow to full power. Most of us will deal with the other youma Zoicite brings."

"What about the cyrstal? What are our chances of getting it this time?" Makoto asked.

"We shouldn't worry about the crystal. It's easier to get everything the Dark Kingdom has if we don't fight too hard at this point. We're saving our tricks for later."

"I don't much like this plan," Usagi said.

"Neither do I," Mamoru admitted. "Neither does Ranma. You know how he is - he wants to win every battle. Not just win - dominate. This is not the one."

With their reservations, they all agreed to the plan. Better to get what they could this time - and keep Reika safe.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Out in the countryside, the Saotomes and Ukyo were eating lunch. Their effort to cure Ranma by the geothermally heated rocks of the Yomogi Valley was a bust; now Genma was willing to try a more desperate idea. "The Crouch of the Wild Tiger!"

"Let's see it," Ranma said.

"Ready!" Genma sat on his knees. Ranma copied him. "Both palms on the earth! Face your opponent, and - " He began ducking his face toward the earth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Your ultimate skill is bowing and scraping?" Ranma asked.

"This technique was named for the legendary wild tiger that fell from a cliff and..."

"Forget it. I'll find it myself." He started taking rocks out of the cooking fire and placing them on spots around his bare chest and back.

This continued until Cologne arrived and placed a rock at a precise spot on his lower back. "It's time," she said. "Let's go."

Genma was amazed. "You got the cure from the Master? How?"

"A while ago, actually," Ranma said. "Kinda hard to see, but there was a chance he'd use it eventually. I just went through all his stuff until I found it, and copied it."

Genma was annoyed. "You just wanted an excuse to get out of school, didn't you?"

"Well, that, too..."

"Argh! Well, now we have to push it if we want to get to Tokyo before nightfall!"

"Heh. I'm more interested in AFTER nightfall... gonna show Happosai my moves."

Genma could sympathize with that.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Happosai stood on a rooftop in Juuban, surveying the area. For the past several nights he had been on the lookout for the Sailor Senshi, but caught no sign of them. He had, however, gotten a large haul of panties. Juuban was virgin territory for him; women were not on their guard here.

"That won't last," he muttered to himself. "Better make the most of it." He began hopping roofs, eyes peeled for both underwear and sailor-suited warriors. Ah! There was one! He jumped after her.

WHANG!

Ukyo peeled Happosai off her spatula and tied him up in a bag. Then she put the bag in a box full of quick-dry cement and placed it on a truck heading out of town. Ranma-chan came over to help see the old man off.

"No guaranteees he won't be back in time for the fight," she said, "but it's better than nothing. I can't see his movements, so I had to track him the old-fashioned way. Not too hard when he isn't looking out for me."

"Can we make it in time?" Ukyo asked, looking at the sun going down.

"We'll have to. PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite appeared a mile over the dusky Tokyo sky. Three flying youma, agile but not very durable, appeared at some distance. He raised a wind berrier immediately and waited for an attack to come.

Nothing happened for some minutes. Deciding the Senshis' attacks did not have orbital range, he gave a signal. The group descended in square formation to one thousand feet.

Still no attacks came. Another signal and the youma made a fast drop to the street. Zoicite himself teleported down. Again, nothing hit him immediately.

He was along the street where Reika usually walked on her way home. There was a factory here; he had scouted it along with her route. He ported around it, then several other sites in the area where the Senshi would have to set up. No sign.

*Have I really done it? Did they not detect this one?* He was still uneasy, but his youma gave him the edge. They met up at the designated point and took up stations on the factory roof.

The target was coming up the street now. There was a man with her. No matter - he would be only mortal. Zoicite dropped his wind barrier, ported to them, and raised the barrier again, covering a larger area. The Senshi should not be able to stop him now.

None of his youma took action. The Senshi seemed to truly not be here. The only opposition before him was the woman's boyfriend. "This is him! Reika! Stay back! I'll protect you!"

"Heh heh. Very heroic, but give up. You cannot defeat me."

Motoki charged.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

On the factory grounds, the Inner Senshi hid, waiting for their moment. Usagi was torn between her need to go to Reika's aid and her fear of the youma patrolling the area. They would have to be dealt with first. "I don't like this..." Sailor Moon said.

"Shhh!" Mars put a finger to her lips. "Remember we're going to save her at all costs. It may just take a little longer."

They gritted their teeth as Reika screamed. Zoicite wasn't dropping his barrier; there was no way they could get the Rainbow Crystal this time. Still, this was their mark. Usagi charged up her tiara. "MOON TIARA ACTION!"

The tiara followed a path along the side of a building and up to the roof, just as a youma came gliding over. It died instantly. The other two youma saw their comrade go down and began evasive actions.

"Scatter!" Mercury fogged the area as everyone else headed for cover. The youma descended and began to use their wings to clear the fog. They maintained fire as they did so. One was an archer, firing arrows that multiplied in flight, covering large areas. Another threw spears that penetrated windows and light walls. They kept the Senshi on the run.

Zoicite was floating into the air, making off with the crystal. "Excellent," he said, appraising the situation. "Rikoukeida, finish them." He disappeared in a shower of petals, just before a thrown rose could reach him.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" Jupiter arced a bolt from behind cover to stun the archer. Moon poked her head out from cover and used her tiara to kill it. Now they only had the spear thrower.

It flew higher, trying to gain range to dodge. It couldn't dodge the purple ball of energy coming at it from its blind side. With it down, only Reika was left.

"He made it!" Sailor Moon cheered. "Now for Reika-san - WOAH!" She dodged as Rikoukeida threw bombs her way. Some of them turned into green slime that began to crawl up her legs. "What yucky things are these?"

"These proto-cells are the basis of all life forms. Like you," Rikoukeida said.

"Whaat?" Sailor Moon wasn't one for technical terms.

"FIRE SOUL!" Mars aimed a blast at the slime, burning it away. Some of the fire climbed up Moon's boots, coming uncomfortably close to her skin. This earned a predictable complaint.

Mercury cast Shabon Spray again. The Senshi moved as Rikoukeida sought them out with more bombs. Moon was soon in a safe spot to cleanse. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

The youma returned to being Reika. Mercury went to her side and scanned her. "She's okay," she said.

The fog dissipated. Sailor Pluto walked up with Ukyo and Shampoo close behind. "We got here as fast as we could," Ukyo said. "Looks like things are in hand."

"We lost the crystal," Tuxedo Mask said. "Zoicite is taking no chances. He left as soon as he had it."

"That's about how things will go the next time," Pluto said. "And as long as they do, it's all according to plan..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Zoicite, you say you have a new strategy for gaining the next Rainbow Crystal?" Beryl said.

Zoicite bowed politely. "I wish to test their abilities with a strongly defensive team this time. In addition to tough bodies, they will be outfitted with crystalline armor to survive more than one direct attack from the Sailor Senshi."

"Perhaps you may actually return with them this time," Magnetite said. "They are beginning to get fearful of the Senshi."

"They will do what Queen Beryl orders," Kunzite said. "But a good plan will ensure we do not lose forces unnecessarily."

"A good plan would be to strike at the Sailor Senshi before securing the Rainbow Crystals. They are committed to defense of the carriers. I recommend we focus on defeating them first as they try to do so. We do not have to secure the crystal in one attempt if we can thin their numbers with several."

"That could still be expensive," Zoicite said, "and would certainly be inelegant. Queen Beryl, allow me to choose suitable youma and I will certainly return with Youma Jiji and the Rainbow Crystal."

"Very well, Zoicite. Choose your youma. Bring me back the crsytal and Jiji."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Same plan, more or less?" Ukyo asked. The Senshi and martial artists were discussing their own strategy at the Nekohanten.

"Very different, actually," Ranma said. "These youma won't be so tough. I'll want to fight them in male form."

"Male form? But you can't kill them unless you're Sailor Pluto?"

"We don't want to kill them. Zoicite will want to bring them back. But they're wusses. We just have to tie them up. We have the tools for that. And as to Zoicite ..." He looked at Rei. "Your old man being a skilled priest actually helps. He has some ability to resist the Dark Crystal. that can buy us time."

"What about Happosai?" Cologne asked. "How will you keep him away this time?"

"Well, he wants to see you guys... I think if he does, that keeps him at a safe distance. You don't all have to be on site this time."

"But don't we want to stay away from him?" Ami asked.

"Guarantee disaster," Shampoo guessed.

"Not guarantee, exactly," Ranma said. "But he is a wild card. If you guys can keep him occupied, the Zoicite end of the battle works easier."

"I'm glad I'm not going near him," Usagi said.

"But you are," Ranma said. "After all, we don't need to kill the youma this time."

"ME? But... but Zoicite will expect to see Sailor Moon! And you'll need me to purify gramps!"

"You can do that after. But Zoicite can be fooled." He looked at Shampoo. "How good are you at dyes...?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Zoicite appeared above Tokyo again, only a thousand feet this time. No attack. A flash of light drew his eye. "Well, well... there they are. Moon, Jupiter, Mercury... who are they fighting? The old priest? No... he is too dark. Almost like one of us... pity he will die. But as long as the Senshi are divided..."

He soon appeared on the street outside the Hikawa Shrine. There was the old man, sitting on the temple roof, gazing at the moon. "Secure the grounds," he ordered the youma, flying up into the moonlight toward the old man on the roof.

"I know who you are!" the target said. "Rei warned me you'd come! Rei! He's here! He's here!"

A shrine maiden came out of the temple along with a young man in silk shirt and pants. "You! You won't get what you want tonight!"

There was an explosion to the left, then the right. Zoicite gaped as the youma rolled out from the trees onto open ground. Their armor had been destroyed! There were powerful foes about. The last two Senshi, no doubt. Well, the youma could keep them busy.

He raised his wind barrier, encompassing himself and the old priest, and pulled out the Dark Crystal. "You are one of the Seven Great Youma, Jiji," he said. "Arise and join us!"

The Rainbow Crystal started coming out of his chest. The shrine maiden began to chant, trying to penetrate the wind barrier, to no effect. The young man ran out into the street and engaged the youma guarding Zoicite's rear. He led it into the yard, near Zoicite, where the other two youma had been thrown.

The priest summoned his energy, resisting the Dark Crystal. "You won't turn me!" he said, starting chants of his own and waving his tasseled rod. Zoicite felt the resistance, costing him energy. He broke off the attack.

"My, you are a strong one. But you cannot win. You!" He dropped the barrier and called a youma up to the roof to hold the priest. The Dark Crystal did its work this time, taking the indigo Rainbow Crystal out. The priest started to change, growing larger and more muscular, becoming Youma Jiji.

"STOP! I KILL!" Zoicite looked to the woods to the left to find the Senshi who had thrown the youma sent that way - it was Sailor Moon! But she was a mile away!

"Heh heh heh... you are faster than I thought, Sailor Moon. But not fast enough. I have the Rainbow Crystal! Jiji-"

He had not been paying attention to the youma fighting the young man on the ground. Now he paid for his ignorance. "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!" A great tornado lifted the youma from the ground, slamming into Zoicite from below and forcing the two crystals from his grip. He grabbed at the Dark Crystal first, but the young man was now riding the wind, hopping on the youma being tossed about like stepping stones. He grabbed the indigo crystal first, then fired an energy blast to propel himself away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

On the ground, Sailor Moon was working with the shrine maiden to keep Jiji contained. She was fighting hand-to-hand this time, holding her own quite well. Zoicite decided to cut his losses. "Time to go," he said. "But I'll be back..." He teleported away with the youma.

"He's gone!" Ranma said. "Time for bed, old man!" He leapt at the demon, stunning it with one blow. It stayed down long enough for the real Sailor Moon to arrive.

"HEEEELLLLPPPP! Ranma! He's after me!" The super-heroine was running as fast as she could from a diminutive lecher.

"Come on! You girls need some training! And I know just what to give you!" Happosai said.

Ranma smashed him into the dirt as he passed. "What could YOU possibly teach them?"

"Sailor Moon!" Rei said, indicating the youma her grandfather had become.

"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" Jiji returned to human form. He slumped to the ground unconscious. Mercury and Rei were quickly at his side, confirming he was unharmed.

"Good job, Shampoo," Ranma said to the fake Sailor Moon. "That might work again next time..."

"Shampoo make better Sailor Moon than Usagi!"

"Hey!" the real one said. "I have more experience!"

"Not count! Shampoo have more what matters!" Moon got into a glaring match with Shampoo, much as she sometimes did with Rei.

"Seems to me Shampoo is a lot like you, Rei," Sailor Jupiter said.

"We're nothing alike!" Rei protested.

"Oh, Rei," Ranma said. "I found a scruffy-looking drunk passed out on your steps earlier. I stuffed him in the guest room to get him out of the way. You might want to check on him."

"So now we're a boarding house? Thanks a lot!"

"Aren't temples supposed to be sanctuaries?" Ukyo asked.

"I looked him over as well. I think he is on a spiritual journey of his own," Cologne said. "Perhaps you should take him in for a while."

"Great. This place is getting too crowded," Rei complained.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"How interesting," Magnetite said. "Only humans, you say? And they did this to you? Are you losing your touch, Zoicite?"

"Challenge me and I think you will find I am still as strong as ever," Zoicite said. "That move was... unexpected. But it is trivial enough to defeat with a wind barrier. It will not work again."

"It is well that you returned with the youma," Kunzite said. "They are willing to go again. They think they can defeat all of the Sailor Senshi next time."

"Let them think what they will," Magnetite said. "I do not doubt these humans were allies of the Senshi. They will be around again."

"They are still only humans," Zoicite said. "They cannot stand against us. We need only worry about the Senshi. And I think they have more than just us to worry about."

"Other enemies of the Senshi?" Beryl was intrigued. "Tell me more, Zoicite."

"Gladly, my queen..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That weekend at training in the wilderness, the Senshi were in for a shock.

"Well, well," Rei said. "Usagi finally wants to train! What brought this on, odango atama?"

"Cause I felt like it!" Usagi said. "I have to train hard if I want to be a better Sailor Senshi, don't I?"

"Tired of running around while the youma shoot at you?"

"Well, she didn't do too bad last time," Makoto conceded. "She can control her tiara pretty well."

"So we've got a guided missile," Ranma-chan said. "She can still use a workout. How about you lift that rock for starters?"

Usagi spent several minutes grappling with the indicated rock. She ended up with her face in the dirt, having gotten it only a few inches off the ground. "This thing must weigh a hundred pounds!"

"Only ten," Ranma said. "I know you're good at running. How about to the top of this hill and down?"

"Should I time her?" Ukyo held a stopwatch.

"Let's see if she can just make it first," Ranma said.

"That isn't a hill! It's a mountain! It's got to be a mile high!"

"Less than five hundred feet. Get going."

She got ten feet up the hill before sliding back down. Several tries and more than an hour later she made it to the top. "YAY! I made it!" she called hoarsely. "I told you I could do it!"

"Now come back down," Ranma called back. She didn't so much as run down as roll.

After a break to catch her breath, Ranma gave her one more test. "Dodge these," he said, holding up some rubber balls they used for dodge practice.

"Don't throw them too hard!" Usagi pleaded.

"Pop used to throw stones hard enough to draw blood," she said, but went easy on her all the same. She not only failed to dodge a single ball, she had a habit of dodging INTO balls that weren't coming her way.

"Pathetic," everyone agreed.

"I guess some people are not cut out for this kind of training," Rei said.

"Can you swim?" Ranma asked. "Wait... let me rephrase that. Can you FLOAT?"

"Float? Of course I can! I go to the pool every summer!"

"It's true," Ami said. "We went to the beach this summer. She had no trouble swimming."

"Thank Kami-sama. At least YOU can swim. Our school principal tried to teach Akane to swim this past week. Girl has NO buoyancy. And doesn't know up from down when she gets in the water."

"Well, I guess I've got that on her," Usagi beamed with pride. "So what do we start with?"

"Oh, more of the same," Ranma said lazily. "Ten times up and down the hill."

"TEN!" Usagi sounded like she had been handed a death sentence. "I'm gonna die..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So this is the place?" Usagi said.

"Please, let me go back home," Luna pleaded. "This neighborhood is too dangerous for me." She looked warily at the numerous cats along the residential walls, eyeing her with amorous intent. At Ranma's suggestion she had carried the Moon Stick

through here while during school hours. She had returned looking bedraggled and refusing to come back.

"Ranma was right about this neighborhood," Ami observed. "There sure are a lot of cats here..."

"Well, at least the cystal carrier isn't a person this time," Makoto said. "Zoicite won't have to hurt any people."

"We wait here," Cologne said. Luna had only been able to locate the house; Cologne had come by later to scan the occupants individually. She had been surprised to find the carrier was the family cat.

The group waited down the street, Senshi transformed, as Zoicite appeared in the sky. He disappeared again, then reappeared on the street fifteen minutes later with his youma, their armor replaced. It would, of course, not be of much use against Breaking Point strikes.

Luna huddled on Sailor Moon's shoulder as the neighborhood cats kept their distance from the humans. At the house, Zoicite deployed his youma in three-point guard formation and rang the doorbell. A young girl answered. "Yes?"

The general knocked her down with a wave of force. The most enormous cat any of the group had ever seen came out of the door, running past Zoicite, who ignored it and began exposing the girl to the Dark Crystal.

"It won't do anything to her, right?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Ranma said it wouldn't," Ukyo said. "Hey, that cat's coming straight for us!"

The huge cat stopped at their feet and looked up at Luna. The Senshi all looked between the two cats. "Is there something going on between you two?" Moon asked.

"Nothing!" Luna insisted. "We only met once on the street!"

Jupiter scooped up the giant cat. "Oof! You need to go on a diet." They carried the cat a few streets over to a canal, where Tuxedo Mask was waiting.

"Set him down here," he said. "The rest of us hide near these shops. We want to lure Zoicite out. His youma will be defending him, so we have to deal with them first."

They tried to set the cat down, but it followed Sailor Moon. "What's up with you, you dumb cat? Stay there!" She tried to push it back. It didn't want to go.

"Quick! Zoicite's coming!" Mars said in a stage whisper. She hid behind a trash can.

"Luna, I think he wants to be with you," Moon said.

"Me? Why? I've got nothing to do with him!"

"Well, he wants to be where you are, so you stay with him over there. Okay?"

Luna's head dropped in defeat. "Alright. If it will help..." She walked out to the canal. The large cat followed.

Sailor Moon barely made it back to a hiding spot in time. The armored youma showed up at either end of the street. Zoicite, encased in a globe of wind, floated over the rooftops and down toward the cats. He glanced around and called his youma in close. "Make sure we are not disturbed. Now, I will have the last Rainbow Crystal ..."

Out came the Dark Crystal. Mercury immediately cast Shabon Spray. The fog was stopped at the wind barrier, but the youma were outside it. Cologne and Shampoo made short work of their armor as well as disrupting their bodies with Breaking

Point strikes. Cologne engaged them, defending in spiral until she could get them into position. "Huryu Shoten Ha!" she yelled, spinning like a top in the opposite direction of the winds in the barrier.

The tornado met the barrier and cancelled it out perfectly. The youma now sank to the ground, ready to fight again. Zoicite, Rainbow Crystal in hand, decided his youma had served their purpose and disappeared in a shower of petals while he still had crystals in hand.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" "FIRE SOUL!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" The youma were tough, and could indeed survive Sailor Moon's attacks. Disrupted by Cologne's Breaking Point strikes, however, the tiara could get through and prevent their reformation.

The cat was now fully changed into a lion-like humanoid youma. Sailor Moon went to work before it could do anything. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" The youma returned to being a normal, if very large, cat.

"We did it!" Sailor Moon cheered, then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "I'm gonna sleep for a week..."

"If you'd been exercising with us earlier you'd last longer," Mars said.

"I'm just glad that's over," Ukyo said. "Let's get back to Ranchan. He's been running Happosai around town all day."

Tuxedo Mask heaved to his feet. "Now the Dark Kingdom will have to challenge us for what we have."

"And Ranma loves challenge fights..." Cologne said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma's next challenge, however, was not the Dark Kingdom, but one of his older enemies: Ryoga. The challenge letter had come the week before; he knew the Lost Boy now had power similar to what Akane had gained from the Super Soba noodles. He had considered seeking out the Martial Arts Calligraphy school and becoming super- powered himself, but he found he just couldn't take the mark seriously. But if Ryoga wanted to make himself a laughing stock, let him.

At the appointed time, Ryoga came up the street. "Where's the vacant lot?" he said.

"You just walked by it," Ranma said. He noticed what Ryoga was carrying in his backpack. "What's with all these dojo signs?"

"Along the way, I challenged a few dojos..."

"Looks like you have gotten better," Ranma said.

Ryoga prepared himself. "Come at me any way you like, Ranma."

Ranma tried full power and speed immediately. Ryoga was always just out of reach, barely evading his moves. Even a tap from his pinkie was enough to send Ranma sprawling.

"I beat him... with only my pinkie..." Ryoga hefted his backpack and prepared to move on. "Farewell, Ranma. I've got no use for you now. I thought if anyone... YOU could be the one to beat me."

"You sound like you want to get beat," Ranma said.

Ryoga explained about his recent experience with Martial Arts Calligraphy. "And with the markings, I did become the strongest man in the world... but at the same time... I've become the most tragic man, as well!" He lifted his shirt, showing the Mark of the Battling God on his belly. It looked like a child's doodle, far too happy and silly for a serious mark of power.

"I see," Ranma nodded. "I take it you can't just wash it off."

"No. The only way to remove the mark... is to be defeated in battle."

Ranma smiled. "I know just who you need to fight..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: sorry this took so long. I had a huge chapter in which Reika got captured and Zoicite later killed while scouting the Hikawa shrine, then realized it wouldn't work that way. Ranma knows if he presses the Dark Kingdom too hard with ambushes they will not waste time trying to extract the Rainbow Crystals in the field; he will take them back to friendly territory and let them come up to full power. Ranma couldn't allow that, so he backs off.

Next: Killing Ground


	21. Killing Ground

Chapter 21: Killing Ground

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"We now have five Rainbow Crystals," Beryl said. "The Sailor Senshi have two. Zoicite, how do you propose to get them?"

"We have the advantage this time," Zoicite said. "The Sailor Senshi could lie in wait for us when they had to protect the carriers of the Rainbow Crystals. Now that all of the crystals are in play, we can concentrate on defeating the Senshi. Once that is done, the remaining Rainbow Crystals will be ours."

"And how will you do this?"

"I have modified the Dark Crystal," Zoicite said. He held the crystal up. "With this crystal, I can turn humans into youma. The Sailor Senshi will not be able to kill them, and so their attacks will be weak."

"How many humans can you change at once?" Magnetite asked.

"I will change as many as it takes."

"I would recommend adding some of our own youma," Magnetite said to Beryl. "There are only two Sailor Senshi with the ability to kill youma outright, and they cannot kill one of us. If we use even three youma separated by several miles at the same time, we can be assured that one will be confronted only by the lesser Senshi and their worthless allies. We will be able to thin their ranks."

*Even that mysterious prophetic Senshi will not be able to save her teammates,* he thought to himself. *She will be in an impossible position - she can face Zoicite, or a youma she can kill, but whichever she chooses the Senshi or allies facing the other one will die. And she cannot leave one to roam free. Humans can be so weak...*

"I will use some of my youma for this," Kunzite said.

"If more youma are involved, the Sailor Senshi will be spread thinner," Magnetite proposed.

"You will all work together," Beryl ordered. "Draw the Sailor Senshi out and kill them!"

Magnetite gave a smug look to his peers. At last he would have a chance to gain some glory. And with Zoicite himself managing things in the field, there was some chance the Sailor Senshi would defeat him as well.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This one is going to be tough," Ranma-chan said. "They'll start using more youma now. They want to draw us out, draw us APART, and kill us where we're weak."

"But we can still kill them like we did before?" Usagi asked.

Ranma indicated several points on the map of Tokyo. "Here, here, here, here, here, here. Six points to defend. I can take one, you can take another. Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter can kill a third. Shampoo and Ukyo can take a fourth. Ryoga can take a fifth, if he stays where he's told."

"Good luck with that," Rei said, rolling her eyes.

"That leaves one point where the youma will be loose. And that's just what Zoicite brings with him. He can now use the Dark Crystal to change humans into youma. Guess who he wants to change first." He looked Usagi in the eyes.

"Not Naru-chan? Oh no! Poor Naru-chan! Will they ever leave her alone?"

"They know she's connected with us, Usagi," Ami said. "It's logical Zoicite would want her."

"Well, they can't have her!" Usagi said. "We have to stop him at all costs!"

"Which means more people are going to be hurt!" Makoto protested. "They're going to get a lot of energy as it is from this!"

"It can't be helped," Cologne said gravely. "They are finally giving us more targets than we can handle. We have to prioritize. Defeat the most important ones first."

"So who goes where?" Makoto asked.

"I'm going with Naru-chan!" Usagi insisted. "I have to protect her!"

"I suppose that means you go with her to, Mamoru?" Rei asked.

Mamoru was a keen study. "Would that be best?" he asked Ranma.

"Actually, yes. Not next to her, though... shadow them. Naru and Umino will be with Usagi, you hang back and wait for Zoicite to strike. I'll check the time to the second..."

They spent some hours hashing out the best timeline. They noticed Ranma having some difficulty telling them about certain points, but assumed that was stress.

Cologne knew better. After the Senshi and Ukyo had left, she addressed the point. "This battle is going to be different, isn't it? People aren't just going to get drained. They're going to die."

Ranma nodded sadly. "I can't see any other way. It feels like... like I'm failing somehow."

"Can not save everyone," Shampoo said. "Save who we can."

"Even the greatest martial artists have their limits," Cologne said. "I'm sure you've heard the stories. It takes a toll on you."

"It's more than that," Ranma said. "I've been feeling... like I'm not myself lately. I mean... that dosen't make sense, does it? If I'm not me, who am I?"

"What do you mean, not like yourself? What's different?"

"Like... I used to want to play around, mess with people. Now I don't want to bother anymore. I just want to get things done. Even Akane... it just doesn't seem worth it to tease her. I used to do that as if it would change her, but I see that it doesn't." He looked suddenly alarmed. "I'm not... turning into HER, am I? There isn't some personality component to the curse?"

Cologne chuckled. "Maybe you're just growing up." She began to look almost wistful. "Growing up, and growing older for that matter, is largely about learning to look beyond the present, to live in longer time frames. As young children we get lost in the world around us, the here-and-now, and don't look at the future - because the world is so new to us. The present is all we have. As we get older, we have more of a past, and can see more of the future - weeks, months, years. When you're six years old, every year, every hour, is a lifetime in itself. Ten years in the future - an unimaginable world. When you're sixty, you lose whole weeks and wonder where they've gone. You know ten years in the future will be much like today. The sun will still shine, the grass will still grow, the wind still blow."

"That's what it is? Living beyond the present?"

"All of the Lady's hosts have ended up much the same. We think the Lady herself must have been shaped by her power. Seeing all things, knowing all ends... she must have had a hard time dealing with people, because to some part of her mind they were already dying."

Ranma shuddered. "I've got to finish this. I've got to lift this curse. I'm a GUY, dammit. Guys defend what's theirs. They fight to be who they're SUPPOSED to be."

He stalked out, burning determination in his eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shortly before noon, Zoicite gave the signal. He was tracking Naru through the city, heading for a crowded amusement park - an excellent place to transform her into a youma.

Magnetite appeared on top of a high-rise apartment, miles from the park. His team of youma was appearing on the streets at this time, attacking immediately. "Let's see how you deal with this, mystery Senshi," he said with a laugh. "You can see where they all will be, but can you reach them all? I think not."

Beryl would be looking at this battle through Zoicite's eyes, careful to note what happened. If the mystery Senshi did anything too anticipatory, she would not fail to see it. But he would have to report his suspicions to her soon enough.

He would just have to keep at his efforts to attune himself to the mystery Senshi's staff. Then, he was certain, they would be on an equal playing field.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A beautiful day at the amusement park. Naru and Umino were entering about noon. Usagi was close behind, looking every which way, trying to find Zoicite.

Unnoticed nearby a brown-haired woman, Western tourist by the look of her, moved easily through the crowd. There she was, Naru Osaka, soon to be first human to become a youma! The Sailor Senshi had no idea, or else they would have attacked by now. Zoicite chuckled to himself. *These humans are so foolish! No one sees through my disguise. The Senshi will never see this coming.*

He had almost gotten to her last night, teleporting straight into her home. But Tuxedo Mask had boldly confronted him. He had reflexively retreated rather than get caught in yet another ambush. Now, in the middle of a crowd, he felt as safe as he had in weeks: the youma tasked to be his guards were also in human disguise throughout the area, and Magnetite's contingent, intended to divide the Senshi, had begun operating a short while ago.

Not far away, a young athletic couple were watching from a bench. "There," Ranma-chan said. "That woman in the white dress. That's him in disguise."

"How stupid do you think I am, Ranma?" Ryoga asked. "I know a woman when I see one!"

"Hey, you gotta admit, it's a good disguise."

"Do you expect me to believe an evil general doesn't even have pride in himself as a MAN?"

"He's not even human!" Ranma was getting exasperated. "I don't know what kind of weird stuff is going on with him."

Ryoga turned away. "Forget it. I'm not hitting a woman."

Ranma sighed. "Fine. I'll show you." He got up and headed toward the 'woman'. "Just don't hold back. I bet you can't beat him even now."

Naru and her boyfriend moved through the park, their attention being drawn to some sort of stage show with a sentai hero in full-cover costume fighting mock battles against other humans in monster suits. Zoicite boarded a merry-go-round horse behind them. With his attention fixed on Naru, he didn't notice Ranma taking the horse just behind him.

Ranma checked to be sure everyone was in position. Usagi coming up from behind. Rei, Mamrou, Shampoo... check. All was ready.

Zoicite held out his hand, showing the Dark Crystal, floating it above his fingers - then hurriedly gripping it again and darting his hand back into his dress. No knives came out. No energy blasts. The Senshi truly were not here! He held the crystal out again, this time summoning power to charge through it. Naru was standing there, right next to her boyfriend, unsuspecting...

"Thaaaank-you." A hand reached over from the inside horse, placing thumb and forefinger together to flick the Dark Crystal some yards away to the pavement. Zoicite sat stunned for an instant, then dove after it. The instant was fatal: a hand gripped the back of his dress and held tight. The dive tore the dress off, revealing his manly chest.

He ignored that, reaching for the Dark Crystal - only to see Sailor Moon wielding a pair of heavy maces coming down faster. "HIII- YAAA!" She gave it a mighty overhead smash, turning it to powder and leaving a ten-foot crater. Zoicite was thrown back up to the merry-go-round.

"Sailor Moon!" Zoicite recovered himself and levitated into the air, materializing his uniform. He looked around quickly, trying to find her allies. There was chanting at his back...

"Akuryou Taisan!" A magical charge struck him from behind, disrupting his powers. Roses flew from out of the crowd, further weakening him. He tried to teleport away and found himself bound.

Ryoga pushed his way through the crowd, facing Zoicite. "So it was true... Have you no pride as a MAN? Dressing up that way? Couldn't you at least wear a jacket or something?"

"Another one of the Senshi's allies? You should know there are youma here, ready to kill. How will you stop them all, I wonder...?" Zoicite backed away, trying to summon enough power to overcome the seal on his teleportation. It should only take a few seconds... "

Seconds he would not have. "Fight me!" Ryoga demanded, lunging at Zoicite. Normally it would be an easy dodge, even without teleporting, but with the Mark of the Battling God augmenting his strength and speed Ryoga was able to get a solid hit. His shields were overwhelmed and he went flying backward in a daze, over Naru's head and into the stage.

By this time Ranma and Usagi had transformed. The real Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto were now on the scene. Both now attacked the prone Zoicite. "DEAD SCREAM!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!"

The general was pushed further back into a wooded area between the stage and a roller-coaster. Shampoo made her way behind Zoicite, picking up the weapon she had placed there. She waited as Ryoga arrived and began pummeling Zoicite into the ground.

Screams were now heard from other parts of the park. "The other youma!" Moon exclaimed. "We have to stop them!"

"Tuxedo Mask is holding that side," Pluto said, indicating the side to the right of the entrance. "Go help him. I've got this side." They split up, looking for their targets and leaving Ryoga and Shampoo to deal with Zoicite.

Pluto had not mentioned the youma stationed near the roller coaster and now coming to its master's aid. Shampoo dodged the bombs it fired; Ryoga staggered back, giving Zoicite time to recover.

"Damn you and your Sailor Senshi friends," Zoicite said. "You will be the first to fall! Do not worry - they will all join you before this day is done! ZOI!"

Ryoga held up his arm as the petals tried to cut him to pieces. They were much less effective than Zoicite had hoped; the extra toughness from the Breaking Point training told. "This... is... NOTHING to me!" he laughed. "DIE, MONSTER!"

The punch caught him in the cheek, spinning him around and sending him flying backward. A normal human's neck would have been snapped. But it was not the punch that killed him.

He flew backward, finding himself heading straight for what looked to be Sailor Moon. It was actually Shampoo, but the distinction would have been lost on him. What was not lost on him was the sight of her weapon: a monk's spade, razor-sharp inner edge of the crescent end level with his neck.

THAT was what killed him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"ZOICITE!"

Kunzite stared in shock at Beryl's crystal ball. It had gone black as the blade had passed through Zoicite's neck. Moreover, Kunzite had felt the shock through their shared bond. He was dead. Truly dead. Killed by mere humans.

Beryl was shocked herself. "Zoicite... killed by humans... such power they have! As much as any of our youma!"

"My queen, I will defeat this human," Kunzite said. "Let me go."

Beryl knew he would stay if she ordered it, but this human was too powerful to leave as an ally of the Senshi. She would have to let Kunzite go. "Very well. Kill the human."

Kunzite disappeared.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga looked on in shock. The enemy was not supposed to be human, but he looked human enough; seeing his severed head lying on the ground was just too disconcerting. He turned away in disgust.

This allowed him to notice the youma behind Shampoo was still active. "YOU!" it said to Shampoo. "You'll pay for that!" It charged, lashing out with fists, forcing Shampoo back.

As it was still feminine in appearance, Ryoga didn't want to attack, but he could easily defend. He interposed himself and blocked the youma's strikes. "Back off!" he said. "You're not hurting anyone."

They youma seemed ready to charge him when purple energy ball came flying in from the left, striking the youma in the abdomen. It screamed and turned to dust. "You shouldn't let them fool you," Ranma said. "They may look like women, but they're not."

"Ah. What about this guy? Is he really dead?"

"Technically. They might be able to reassemble him..." She walked up to within a staff-length. "DEAD SCREAM!"

The shot hit the head squarely. It was blasted into a blackened mass. Another shot at the body and both began to emit sparks and fade from sight.

"NOW he's dead." Pluto began to head toward Sailor Moon's side of the park.

"Wait a minute," Ryoga protested. "He didn't beat me!" He raised his shirt. The mark was still there. "The mark! It's still there! How am I going to get rid of it now?"

"Heh. Look like Zoicite wasn't so tough. Don't worry - there's another tough guy in Ota. Follow me."

Shampoo and Ryoga fell in behind Sailor Pluto as she met up with Sailors Moon and Mars before leaving the park. "Mars, you can take him to Ota. He can soften up the youma there so you can kill it in one shot. Sailor Moon, you head north an meet up with Mercury. I'll clear the way back to Nerima."

"Right! Let's go!" They split up, heading their separate ways.

Pluto looked back at Mars and Ryoga. He would get lost on the way to Ota, of course, and she would have to bail Mars out. But there was someone else in Shinjuku she needed to see.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The reporter sounded suitably frantic. "We have people unconscious all over the street here... police have confirmed five dead at this hour across the city, that number is expected to rise..."

Kasumi and Nabiki were going pale. They had been warned by Ranma to stay home; today was no day to be out on the street. Their father and Mr. Saotome, of course, had gone to assist the police. Soun had ordered Akane to stay home as well, but one had to wonder if that was a mere formality; she had left minutes after he did.

"Oh my," Kasumi said. "I hope they're safe out there. Those things are taking a lot of energy."

"They don't look so tough," Nabiki said. "Ranma says a good martial artist - well, a ridiculous one like him or his father - can't really be hurt by them. And Daddy has been getting sharper since Happosai came back..."

"Even so... I worry about them. And Akane... she isn't as good as she likes to think she is." She got up and began to pace frantically.

"Worrying won't do anything," Nabiki said. "I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to trust Ranma on this. Everyone who can do something about this is out there. There's really nothing WE can do."

"There is one thing..." Kasumi headed toward the family shrine.

Nabiki followed. As Kasumi began to pray, Nabiki found herself looking at the framed photo of their mother. She found it easier than Kasumi to believe that their father was in no danger, and that perhaps Akane would come back with no worse than the usual scrapes and sprains. But looking at the picture of her mother sent her thoughts on a tangent: What of Ranma's mother?

She had asked Genma about his wife; he hadn't wanted to talk. Ranma had only said she wasn't ready to meet him yet. Not that HE wasn't ready to meet HER, though that might also be the case, but that SHE wasn't ready to meet HIM. It sounded like something he had seen in one of his visions.

She decided she would want to know what he was doing, ready or not. At the least, Nabiki could find her and find out WHY she wasn't ready. Not everything was a matter of profit for her; she did have her curiosities as well.

She made a note to make a few calls in the morning.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

On a street in Nerima, Akane was trying to fight a youma. She had been warned about its abilities. It had, of course, done no good. She was now entangled in what looked like spaghetti. "Can anyone help me get this stuff off?"

Ukyo swiped her giant spatula in an arc down her middle, the edge just missing her clothes. "Honestly, Akane, for someone so good at handling Kuno's boys, I don't see how you can be so clumsy."

"It happens to everyone once in a while!"

"It happens to you all the time," she said as she threw more flour on the youma. "Hmmm... maybe this thing needs some meatballs..."

"Akane!" Soun's voice came from the end of the street. He and Genma ran to them, adopting a stance to face the youma that was still ready to strike. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay home!"

"I can take care of myself, dad! And Ranma told Ukyo to handle this one. I'm just as good as her! If she can fight a youma, so can I!"

"He really shouldn't have," Genma said. "Risking his fiancee when he should be protecting her - I taught him better than that. It's a man's job to face risks like this."

"I'm not going to argue!" Akane said, as the youma moved again. She tried to hit it with a solid punch, but its resilient flesh simply reformed. Soun and Genma also hit it from several angles, but Ukyo's batter hampered it more.

"Go back home, young lady," Soun ordered when they had breathing room. "We'll talk about this later."

Akane scowled, but she could not disobey a direct order from her father. "Okay," she pouted. "Ukyo? Are you coming?"

"Give us a second. Sailor Mars is supposed to be this way in a few minutes."

Akane huffed. "Ranma had better not come crying to us if you get killed." She ran back toward home.

"What about the Master?" Genma asked. "I bet he can kill one of these things if he tried..."

"Ranchan said he's end up fighting one. Didn't sound like he was going to kill it..."

"I can see why," Genma said, noting the feminine form of the youma they were confronting. "Maybe we should check in on him..."

"Make sure it finishes him," Sound finished.

They nodded to each other, and left.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite smiled to himself. The plan was working - teleporting around the city he had seen Sailors Mercury and Jupiter were both isolated, as were the known non-magical allies seen in some battles. Police and trained fighters were trying to handle the loose youma as best they could, but casualties were mounting.

Things were not as bright as they seemed, however. He would not have thought the prophetic Senshi would keep Mars and Moon close; this meant more humans would die early. But it was the correct strategic decision: it had eliminated Zoicite and the Dark Crystal, and now she and Moon had split up to finish off the other youma.

The loss of Zoicite, while a boon to him, was ill-timed for them overall; he had not taken even one Senshi with him. The Senshi were ahead for the moment.

He teleported to a rooftop overlooking Sailor Jupiter's fight. It looked like she and the youma were in a three-way fight with something else, a diminutive being with some amount of dark energy. "Another enemy of the Senshi?" he wondered. Perhaps some diplomacy was in order. He teleported down to the youma on the street. "Pull back," he ordered. "I will redeploy you." He teleported away with the youma, placing it a dozen blocks away.

He quickly returned to his command post on the high rooftop and summoned a spy. "Follow the small one fighting Sailor Jupiter," he ordered. "Find his lair."

"As you command," the spy said, bowing, and left.

If this was the same being reported by Zoicite last time, it looked to be a valuable possibility. Anything that could survive a battle with a Senshi was doing better than most youma.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Phooey," Happosai fumed. "Just when things were looking good. That lady was almost about to succumb to my charms..." He turned to Sailor Jupiter. "Well, at least I still have you to help. How about some of my special training?"

"SUPREME THUNDER!"

He lay in a daze on his back, watching helplessly as Jupiter fled as fast as her Senshi speed could carry her. "I guess she likes playing hard to get..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Wait up, Ranma!" Ryoga called as Sailor Pluto turned a corner several yards ahead. He made it to the corner and looked in the direction Pluto had gone - only to find her nowhere in sight.

"Huh... well, he said Ota... it must be this way..." They had already made a number of confusing changes of direction, but he was sure he knew this part of town. He headed in the direction of Ota, hoping to catch up.

A dark laugh came from above as he was passing a line of shops. "So, you are the one who defeated Zoicite."

Ryoga looked up and behind him to see a man with long white hair, wearing an outfit much like Zoicite's but with a cape, floating a few meters above the street. His tone was contemptuous; the look on his face had a touch of anger.

"Who are you?" Ryoga asked. Was this the enemy Ranma had been taking him to? "Is this Ota?"

"This is where you die," the man said, and projected blasts of dark power from his hands. The first one caught Ryoga and knocked him back several feet. The second he blocked.

"Do your worst!" Ryoga said. "I can beat anyone like this!" He launched himself at the floating man, aiming to land a punch similar to the ones that had taken down Zoicite.

The new enemy was wary. He projected a wide wave of dark power that stopped Ryoga in flight, then held him in an invisible grip. "Brave, but foolish. Mere physical stength cannot hope to prevail against us. Meet your doom!"

The darkness crushed him, driving the wind from his lungs. He struggled with all his strength to break the invisible bonds, forcing his arms away from his sides. But the enemy was not using all of his strength to hold Ryoga: he was summoning a huge ball of dark energy.

The blast knocked him into a shop behind him, all the way through to the street on the other side. And it knocked him unconscious.

Kunzite looked on at the scene of destruction, presuming the human boy to be dead. "Zoicite... you are avenged..." He disappeared to make his own memorial.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In a shopping center in Shunjuku, a brown-haired girl huddled behind a counter, certain she was about to die.

The youma was just outside, draining energy from everyone around, in some cases looking fatal. She had sought cover as soon as she saw it. Other people were also fleeing the area or falling unconscious. She prayed it would move on to another street rather than search the nearby stores.

Why hadn't she gone with them? It was the most sensible thing to do. She had known it at the time. She could be hurt - killed, for all she knew - if she stayed where she was. Was she hoping the youma went chasing after the crowds fleeing on the streets?

No. She had to face the truth. Face herself. She had always known she was not like other girls. She saw things no one else did. Knew things no one should know. She had a strength her parents and teachers would not think one such as her should possess. She stayed here because she didn't want to run. She wanted to fight. Like a soldier.

Like a Senshi.

She had followed them almost since the first media reports. Started checking the newspapers religiously, looking for news stories of battles. Bought magazines with articles on them. Listened to radio and television news for word, gossip, speculation, on who they were, where they lived, what their sizes were, their preferences, their boyfriends. As if anyone knew anything. For all they knew the girls were no more human than the monsters they fought.

But she knew. They had to be human. And the more she followed them, the more certain she was that she was one of them. That she had a special destiny.

She could not speak of these things to her parents. They found it suspicious enough that she was interested in the Sailor Senshi. They were kitsch, they said. Not her style at all, so elegant and refined. So compassionate. So caring. A soldier had to be strong, brutal, stoic. Had to be willing to make sacrifices.

She had struggled with herself. Surely she was too precious, to valuable, to risk her life against the youma. Gifted at academics. Proficient in several musical instruments - virtuoso on violin. Accomplished artist - works sold for year's salary of an average middle-management worker. Society talked about her, wondered what she would do next. Young men asked themselves if they were good enough for her. People said they would envy the man who caught her. Surely she had a great destiny before her.

That much was true. But she could not escape everything her dreams, her senses, her heart told her. That destiny was not what everyone thought it was. Only she knew what it was. And she knew it was facing her right now.

She summoned her courage and stood up, looked out into the street. There it was, starting to make off toward the fleeing crowds. Stepping over bodies of those already drained. Last chance to back out.

The youma paused at one unconscious form, raised a fist, prepared to administer a finishing blow. Possibly the first of many. She could not back out now. She had to be a hero. She grabbed a small clothing rack and threw it.

That got the thing's attention. "You... human... you DIE!" It rushed her, pinned her to a wall, grabbed her throat.

She couldn't breathe. Darkness started to cloud her vision. Was this it? Had she been wrong all this time? Was she just a silly, deluded girl with yearnings for a life more than her place and time offered? Would it all end here, her parents mourning their bad luck? Or her foolishness?

She felt something stir within her, some new resistance, a power she hadn't felt before. Power to push back the darkness. Power that erupted before her, pushing back the youma, blazing with light. Power that took solid form.

A stick, looking like some child's toy, a ball on one end, topped with a six-pointed star with a symbol. The ancient Greek symbol of the god Neptune, she realized. She felt a sensation on her forehead, and knew that same symbol blazed in light there.

She stood transfixed. It was impossible. Unreal. But what was real, anymore, in a world of monsters and magical girls? She reached out a hand, preparing to grasp the stick. She hesitated. Her life, her destiny, was bound up in this thing. Once she took it, she knew, her life would never be the same. She couldn't go back to being a mere girl.

In the end, she knew there was no choice. She had to embrace her destiny. She would not be only Michiru Kaioh. She would become complete, her true self.

The words came unbidden to her lips. She raised the stick and spoke.

"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

The power exploded all around her, crashed through her like the waves of the sea. For an instant she seemed naked, like a newborn child, and she was indeed born anew. Fabric forming around her, nail polish and mascara appearing on her, earrings and tiara materializing in their places. She was floating off her feet, settling back on the ground. She felt the power coursing through her, energizing her, making her more than a match for the thing that had just tried to kill her.

She reached a gloved hand toward it, spoke again, the words of power that would doom all evil: "DEEP SUBMERGE!" A green ball of energy formed, a tenuous ring around it, and flew toward the youma. It seemed engulfed by waters, and was simply... NOT.

She stood there in silence for a moment. She had done it. She had destroyed a youma. Saved the people lying on the ground all around. She looked down at herself.

A Senshi outfit, just like the others. She turned to look in a mirrored wall nearby, regarded her new self. No, her OLD self - ages old, a person from another world, another time.

It was her. Green hair, like some punk girl about to go to a nightclub, but she knew it wasn't just dye. This was what she had looked like, what her true form was. Her genetics might not be strictly human anymore.

"Strange, isn't it?" a voice said.

She turned to face its owner. A woman a little older than herself, also with green hair, a little darker, in a Senshi costume with different colors - no shoulders at all - leaning on a metal pole. A comrade in the fight against evil.

"Michiru Kaioh, age fifteen," the newcomer said. "Now also Sailor Neptune. I'm sorry things are so rushed. There's a lot of youma to take care of just now." She turned and started to walk away. "You'll want to follow me. There's someone else we need to find. Someone you know..."

She began to follow. "You... know me...?"

"Ranma Saotome, age sixteen. Sometimes Sailor Pluto. We can do more catching up when you meet the others. Come on. Your partner is waiting..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The rest of the day did not go very well for Magnetite. By the time he returned to face Beryl and make his final report, it seemed the entire force of youma used was dead, and no Senshi were confirmed killed. Needless to say, Beryl was not pleased.

"It seems your plan has failed," Kunzite said, sounding none too joyful himself. "None of the Senshi have been killed, and now we have lost Zoicite as well."

"Zoicite was a fool," Magnetite said, taking the chance to twist the knife. "He could have killed all the Senshi about him if he had been more aware. I certainly would have."

"Do not waste your time bickering!" Beryl ordered. "You would better use your time to find a new strategy. The Sailor Senshi still have two of the Rainbow Crystals. Find a way to get them!"

Magnetite and Kunzite both bowed. "As you command." They returned to their command centers to sift data on the battle.

Magnetite was pleased when, later that evening, his spy reported the strange small man that had given Sailor Jupiter some trouble seemed to be residing in a house in Nerima. "Excellent," he said. "Keep watch, and record his movements and habits. Perhaps he knows where the Senshi live. We can ambush them at our leisure."

His pleasure disappeared when he checked the news reports from the humans' television networks and found that two new Sailor Senshi seemed to have appeared. "Not only do our numbers shrink, theirs grow!" he raged. "How many of them are there?"

He cooled down to collect his thoughts. However many there were, Sailor Pluto would know them all and how best to awaken them. It seemed prudent to let the next gambit wait a while, and design it to draw out them out again, revealing their true numbers and resources. Intelligence was a key to warfare, and right now the Dark Kingdom was lacking in it. He would go far in Beryl's graces if he could remedy that.

And even farther if Kunzite were also eliminated. Which he was sure could be done if the new Senshi gave them a sufficient edge...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga woke up and coughed. He was covered in dust and surrounded in wreckage. He remembered being in a fight - some dark energy being used -

He lifted his shirt. The mark was gone! A feeling of relief washed over him. He would miss the power the mark had given him, but didn't want to live with the embarrassment of it. He would be satisfied with power he attained on his own efforts.

He climbed out of the wreckage and looked around. "Ranma... someday I will beat you with real training... just you wait..."

He stalked off across the city, not caring for the moment where he ended up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After the last youma was confirmed dead, Pluto took the Outers to a ladies' room to transform back. Ranma-chan handed them pre-typed briefing papers. "Most of what you need to know is here," she said. "We're meeting tomorrow after school. You'll want to join us, and train with us next week. The last of the Inners arrives then, and we want to get to the invasion of the Dark Kingdom as soon as possible."

"Invasion?" Haruka said. "Why do I feel we're late to the party?"

"Sorry about that. This was as early as I could get you awakened." She turned on a hot water faucet and splashed herself.

Jaws dropped. "... and people call ME butch..." Haruka said.

"Long story," Ranma said. "Like I say. Read up, ask your questions tomorrow. There's families waiting on us right now. Let's not worry them, okay?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Genma, of course, was one to express his worry as anger. "Ranma! What are you doing letting your fiancee out on the streets like that! It's your job to protect her! You should at least be at her side!"

"I know what I'm SUPPOSED to do," Ranma said, not giving an inch. "And I also know what I HAVE to do. I know the difference better than you, old man."

"Ranchan knows what's safe for me to do," Ukyo said. "And Akane, and everyone else. I trust him with my life!"

"Can you?" Nabiki asked. "They're saying a couple dozen people died today. There didn't seem to be that many youma. I think you could have saved more of them."

Ranma was getting annoyed. "You guys just don't get it, do you? You THINK. You argue what's best. I can SEE. I KNOW."

"Awfully convenient to say that," Nabiki said, "when no one else can."

"Look, I won't lie to you. Today was tough on me. We might be hurt again. But nothing like this. After next week, we can take the fight to them. All the dying will be on their side."

"I'll have to go with you to make sure of that," Genma said.

"I expect that. Mr. Tendo? You got a choice here."

"I'd certainly like to go with you... but after today I think it's more important to make sure my daughters are safe." Akane glared unhappily at him, knowing what that meant: he did not want to leave her out of his sight.

Ranma nodded. All that should remain now was final preparations. Assuming Happosai was reasonably well behaved...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: The standard SM anime timeline is a bit wonky.

Usagi starts the first season at a nominal fourteen years old. No birthdays are mentioned during the season, but by the progression of seasons described in the episodes a full year passes, leaving her fifteen years old. The second season likewise takes a year, with no birthdays mentioned, which would leave her sixteen years old.

Now, I've seen indications that the Japanese do not reckon age as Westerners do; for them, the nominal age is not the number of birthdays that HAVE PASSED, but the birthday that IS IN THE CURRENT YEAR; thus, Usagi stating at the start of the first season that she is fourteen years old is to be interpreted as meaning her UPCOMING birthday sometime in the Nephrite arc, and by Western reckoning she would actually be 13 at the start of the first season and 15 going on 16 at the end of the second.

The simple plan of the timeline, then, is that as the guinzuishou goes wild and resurrects the fallen Senshi at the end of season one, only they are affected; they are raised with no memories of the previous year, which everyone else around them remembers, and they are given filler memories of an ordinary year. This leaves Usagi having celebrated her fifteenth birthday by the start of season three.

But her fifteenth birthday is explicitly celebrated in season three. Which forces us to conclude the first two seasons are crammed into one calendar year. They must overlap, and the guinzuishou going wild must have affected the entire world, erasing a year of history and forcing people to live the year again, with various butterflies changing their experience of the year as the Dark Kingdom is not also reset.

One wonders at how this works, how extensive the effect is. If the effect was limited to Earthspace, people would notice the Moon changing phases, and astrologers and astronomers would notice the planets out of their places. Pretty soon it would become clear the world had lost a year somewhere, and there would be speculations on alien intervention to cover up a disaster.

But the magic of the SM universe clearly supports time travel, so what clearly happened is the human world (but not the Dark Kingdom) was carried back through time. No doubt this causes Sailor Pluto some headaches.

Then again, this points to a problem that affects all long-running TV shows of this sort, with strange revelations and built-up cosmology: continuity maintenance. One has to be careful that the continuity established so far is not violated, which eventually limits storytelling possibilities. Some stories writers would love to tell just wouldn't work because characters, resources, or elements of the universe introduced earlier would deal with potential problems summarily, defusing dramatic tension.

As mentioned in an earlier note, one of the points of a fic like this, where protagonists are given foreknowledge of events in later seasons, is to allow them to deal with their problems in just this fashion, as well as give readers a chance to see them act as more functional and rational people than in canon. Most of Ranma's problems are eventually solved easily this way, and in SM terms one has to wonder what the Death Busters were doing while the Dark Kingdom was active - should they cross paths, the Witches 5 should easily stomp the DK generals.

Other once-popular crossovers, Tenchi Muyo! and Ah! Megami-sama!, have their own problems. For TM, we can imagine that as most of the DK activites take place in Tokyo there is no reason for the Okayama aliens to get involved; but if they threaten to actually win, the Juraians have every reason to intervene, or at least call the GP, which should deal with most of the problem. One wonders how they would deal with Galaxia...

For AMG, we can imagine that the goddesses would support the Senshi and the demons would support the Dark Kingdom, but the doublet system prevents open war, and so we have a proxy war. Crossing TM and AMG... well, incompatible cosmologies, to say the least.


	22. Full Strength

Chapter 22: Full Strength

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Whoa! New Senshi?" Usagi was excited. "Um... Hi! I'm Usagi Tsukino! Pleased to meet you!"

Haruka and Michiru looked at Ranma. "We're all one team," he said. "Better get used to these guys..."

Polite introductions were made. "They don't seem like much. Like little girls, if you ask me," Haruka said.

"You're telling me," Ranma lamented. "I'm in high school. I'm used to girls who are a bit more grown up myself."

"Well, we KIDS can still fight!" Usagi protested.

"We teach them," Shampoo said. "They learn good. Except baka Usagi..."

"Oh, great. Everybody's on my case now!"

"She's not meant to be a front-line fighter," Cologne said. "She's the Princess. I think she was given the powers of a Senshi as formal military training, as monarchies will do for their heirs, but she would not have been expected to lead from the field..."

"So who DOES lead in the field?" Haruka asked.

"Ranma, because he's the one who knows what's going on," Rei said. "But he says our real leader should be Venus."

"She's supposed to come back this week, isn't she?" Makoto asked.

"She arrives from England in a couple of days. Give her a day to move in and unpack and she'll go looking for us. You should meet her here..." He indicated a point on their map.

"Us? What about you?"

"I'll have to be gone that day. There's a magical artifact that can help cure my fear of cats, and help with some other things, but it's only available that day."

"Then Luna will finally be able to meet you!" Ami said. "That's great!"

They eventually got down to business. "So what are they doing next?" Usagi asked.

"Another big battle like this?" Rei wondered.

"It was en effective strategy," Ami noted.

"If they throw a couple dozen at us next time..." Makoto shuddered at the possibilities.

"I think there were actually two generals operating last time," Ranma said. "This time there seems to be only one, though we'll have to deal with the other one later. Name is Kunzite, I think. He'll challenge us to a duel for all the crystals and try to keep a bunch of extra youma in reserve, get us engaged individually, and finish us off himself one by one. But he doesn't know about Uranus and Neptune yet..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"A panty thief?" Magnetite mused. He looked at the map and noted the location. He was looking over the notes his spy had taken over the few days since the battle. Somewhere in Nerima ward, seemed to be living in an ordinary residential area house. Overheard conversations seemed to mark him as a garden variety lecher.

"A mere lecher... how could he give the Senshi so much trouble? Is there something he knows?" He looked down into the notes on conversations overheard among the occupants of the house. These stopped him in his tracks.

"So... this 'Ranma' is the true identity of Senshi Pluto... and has the power to see the future. As I guessed." He thought about the implications. "Direct attack against her would not work, but if we can follow her to the others, we can again attack them separately..." Nephrite's notes had indicated they were all schoolgirls; it should be easy enough to infiltrate youma as teachers or other students.

The next page was even more explosive. "A blind spot! This 'Happosai' is immune to Pluto's ability? If this is true..." He smiled, then laughed uncontrollably. "We have her now...!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A few hours later, on the streets of Nerima, Happosai was lying in the street, severely beaten after Ranma had intercepted him on his latest panty raid, allowing the women chasing him to catch up. He dusted himself off and limped away to lick his wounds. "That Ranma! One of these days I'll come up with a way to teach him a lesson he won't see coming! Something he'll never get himself out of!"

"Excuse me," a smooth voice said. It seemed to be a handsome dark-haired man with women hanging off of his arms. "You know a certain 'Ranma' who lives in these parts?"

"And what business do you have with him? One of his defeated rivals? Someone out to prove you're better?" He didn't look like a martial artist. Then again, some of Ranma's rivals had not looked much like martial artists. And those women with him... He couldn't resist. "Who are the cuties? Any chance of a cuddle?" He reached a hand forth for a grope.

The man backed away with his women. He produced a business card. "Titus Magnus, man about town. Let's just say I have a few... outstanding issues. I'm sure I can get you some... proper company if you get me something in return. Something I believe this Ranma would have."

"Name it. I can get it from him." *Good luck holding onto it once YOU have it,* he thought.

"A couple of large gemstones," the man said. "I would expect them to be kept with friends..."

Within minutes, the deal worked out, Happosai was bounding along the street. By this time tomorrow, hopefully, he would have his comforts and Ranma would know what it was like to be robbed of his treasures. Perhaps he wouldn't be so hasty to steal back all those panties.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Nekohanten was relatively quiet at night. Happosai found it easy enough to slip into. He had spent the day looking around for the crystals the man had described. There had been no sign of them at the Tendo home, Furinkan High School, or the Hikawa Shrine. This was the next place to check: with Cologne standing guard, he would probably think it secure.

The back storage areas had lots of boxes and crates to hide them in. One thing that did catch his eye immediately, however, was a cage holding a squirrel. It perked up at seeing him in the dark. Happosai noted it began rattling its cage as if a prisoner wanting to be free.

"Awww. A pet squirrel. You want out? You don't want to go out there. It's fall already. There isn't enough time to gather nuts. You're better off here, where they can feed you."

He kept searching through the storeroom until he was satisfied the gems were not there. Kitchen, dining room... most likely Cologne's room, he decided. If they were as valuable as Magnus claimed, she would keep them close. He would have to be extra careful.

He considered waiting until she woke up in the middle of the night for something. No, he would have to make some noise downstairs to distract her. But there was a risk that she would notice him on the way down.

Ah! He had a potential ally in this. He went back down to the squirrel and opened the cage, then the outer door. "Run along, little squirrel. Run along and find your little girly squirrels to play with..."

The squirrel did not go for the outer door just yet. It headed for the kitchen sink and turned on the hot water. This got Cologne and Shampoo up, but the squirrel didn't seem to care. It dunked itself under the stream.

A young man stood up in the sink. "At last, I am free..." he intoned in a dark voice. "And Ranma and that old ghoul will pay!"

Happosai leapt to the ceiling just before the lights came on. "Mousse!" Cologne said. "How did you get free?"

"I'm not about to tell you!" he said as he dashed naked out the door. Cologne and Shampoo gave chase.

Happosai dropped to the floor, giggling. "Now I have the place all to myself! Let's see, where would she keep it..."

A few minutes later, Cologne and Shampoo returned, having lost track of Mousse. "I think that boy must have an easier time in the dark for being nearly blind," Cologne said. "We'll just have to tell Ranma in the morning."

She was just settling down to bed when a cry came from Shampoo's room. "Great grandmother! Crystal gone!"

Cologne darted to the room. Sure enough, the loose floorboard over the hiding spot was out of place. "Stolen!" she exclaimed. Her brow furled. "There can be only one person who could have done that... and set Mousse free."

"We tell Ranma?" Shampoo asked.

"He will know soon enough. But I think our timetable has just been moved up..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Happosai was in heaven. At last he had all the girls a man could want! Girls who actually WANTED to be groped! Girls who didn't mind his age! They thought he was actually HANDSOME!

Magnetite smiled at the diminutive man. The taira placed upon his head was, until now, a useless trinket in his collection of artifacts. Now it had become important; it allowed him to contain the one being Sailor Pluto could not predict. It would keep him experiencing visions of whatever pleasures struck his fancy until removed.

The man seemed to be an unusual source of energy. Pity he had to be kept alive. But until the guinzuishou was assembled, he could not guarantee Sailor Pluto would not find some way to recover the Rainbow Crystals from them.

With an aura of triumph, he strode along the corridors to the audience chamber and bowed. "Queen Beryl, I request audience."

"Magnetite. Have you formulated a plan for gaining the Rainbow Crystals from the Senshi?"

"More than formulated, my queen. I have executed it." He produced the case containing the crystals.

Beryl made a gesture, lifting the case out of his hands and floating it to her to examine. "They are! They are the Rainbow Crystals! You are to be commended, Magnetite. Now the Sailor Senshi are doomed! Our victory is assured!"

She sent out a summons to Kunzite, who reported immediately. "You called, my queen?"

"Magnetite has recovered the Rainbow Crystals the Senshi took from us! Quickly! Bring the rest! We must waste no time! The guinzuishou must be found!"

Kunzite gave Magnetite a look of envy and hatred. How had he done it? Now he, Kunzite, was upstaged. His position was precarious. But he dared not make a move directly against his rival yet. He could only obey. "At once, my queen," he said, and teleported to his stronghold to retrieve the five Rainbow Crystals in their possession.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan woke suddenly. It was dawn, about time to get up anyway, but the dream ... death, darkness, destruction. The Dark Kingdom was about to triumph! How? Who? What?

She calmed herself down and forced herself into meditative trance. Project going to the nearest phone, calling Nerima... Happosai! The crystals stolen? Well, that could still change. Another projection, looking for the right words... yes. That put things back on track.

She lifted her travel pack and set out at a dead run for her destination. There was no time to lose.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Morning at the Tendo home. The mailman had dropped off an unexpected package.

"For me and Ranma...?" Akane wondered. "Who's it from?"

She opened the box. The contents were wrapped in newspaper. "It's heavy..."

She tore away the newspaper to find a porcelain statue of Kuno, with a tape deck embedded in it. She played it.

"Akane Tendo... Pig-Tailed Girl... I shall be unable to attend school for the next three days due to personal reasons. Heh heh."

"Sometimes I wish bad taste was a crime," Nabiki said.

"You will be lonely, I know. That is why I send you this statue, that you may gaze lovingly upon it until I return to y-" Akane cut the tape off, stomping on the statue.

"Baka," she said. "Probably going after Ranma again."

"Ranma did say he was going to get something that would help him cure his fear of cats," Kasumi said. "If Kuno knows that's what he wants..."

"He'd want Ranma to keep his weakness," Nabiki finished. "Not that he could if he tried..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite bowed before Beryl, handing over the case containing the five Rainbow Crystals Zoicite had gathered. "Our crystals, my queen."

Beryl took the case and levitated it before her. She placed the last two Rainbow Crystals in it. "Now, we shall at last have the guinzuisou! Now we shall have victory!" She began a chant, summoning power. It seemed so long ago now that she had worked out the spell for this, waiting for this day. At last it was to be used.

Her generals and the attendant youma watched silently. There was a palpable sense of anticipation. The day of victory was at hand! No longer need they fear the Sailor Senshi - they would be irrelevant now. The world would belong to the Darkness!

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tatewaki Kuno surveyed the men standing in line before and behind him. Many were clearly men of great strength, by training or natural ability. Kuno regarded them with his usual contempt. Those of slighter build he had a little more respect for; they understood, as he did, that no mere strength of arm or training of body would pull the sword from its stone. Only strength of destiny would allow one to do that, and only Kuno (so he fancied) had that.

At the appointed hour, the monks opened the gates and the pulling began. Some men pulled mightily, straining muscles or throwing out their backs. Others just gave the handle a good yank, knowing that should be enough, and went on. One by one, they took their turns and the line moved.

Kuno was prepared with his wishes. Not long ago, it seemed, he would not have known what to do with them if he had got them; what could the man who had everything -looks, fame, wealth, popularity - possibly want? But now he knew he did have one want: To break the curse of Jusenkyo that bound the prophetic lady to Saotome. Without that advantage, surely Tatewaki Kuno would be Ranma Saotome's superior in combat.

The sword would grant two more wishes after that; and in recent days he had decided on one. His attempts to assist the fierce tigress of his passion, Akane Tendo, had come up short; he had no weapon suitable for slaying youma. The sword could surely remedy this.

As to the third wish, he could think of no better gift to Akane. Far be it from him to sink to Saotome's level of vile sorcery and wish for Akane to awaken to her love for him. She would be swayed by his kindness and protection, he was sure. Let her have the last wish, and surely her heart would open of itself.

At last, it was his turn. The moment of destiny awaited. The monks keeping track of the pullers were whispering and pointing at him. Yes! They knew he was the one! "C-can this truly be..."

His thoughts were interrupted by Ranma-kun landing on his head. "Sorry, Kuno," he said. "It wouldn't have worked anyway." He grabbed the sword and yanked.

It came free immediately. Fireworks exploded. Streamers came down in celebration. Monks grabbed at Ranma as he ran past, already trying to distance himself from the enraged Kuno.

Back at the rock, Kuno lifed himself off the ground. "Saotome... You have interfered in my life for the last time! Now you would disrupt a destiny decreed by the gods themselves!" He drew his bokken and gave chase. "Prepare to die!"

Ranma leapt over the back wall of the shrine and settled down to make his first wish. "Wishbringer! Cure my fear of cats!"

The blade vibrated, the vibrations modulating to make a voice. "Your wish is my command." A soft bluish glow surrounded him. There was no immediate sensation. He knew, however, that it had worked. Luna and Artemis would present no problems now.

He felt sandals landing on the top of the wall above him. Kuno had caught up. "Stand and fight, coward! You cannot run from justice!"

"Sorry, Kuno. I got things to do." He ran off into the countryside, careful to say nothing more until he had lost Kuno.

A few miles later his next target was in sight. "Ranma! Where did you go?" Ryoga fumed. "You left me behind! I almost didn't find that guy!"

"But you did find him, didn't you?" Ranma said. "So it's all okay."

"What's that you got?" Ryoga motioned to the sword. "Did you steal that from Kuno or someone?"

"He thinks so." He poked the blade into Ryoga's chest lightly. "Wishbringer! I wish you to give this guy's entire family, including him, a normal sense of direction, so they don't get lost!"

"Your wish is my command." Something like a static shock leapt from the sword to Ryoga.

"Ow!" Ryoga cried. "What's that all about? A talking sword...?"

"I'll tell you in a bit." He now held the sword aloft. "Wishbringer! Summon the guinzuishou to Sailor Moon!"

"Your wish is my command."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the depths of the Dark Kingdom, Beryl's chant was at its end. The seven Rainbow Crystals lifted into the air and seemed to turn into balls of colored light, circling about the great chamber, then coming together into a single blazing white light. All those present shielded their eyes for a moment, until the light began to fade.

When it was gone, the air was empty.

"The guinzuishou..." Beryl said, suddenly anxious. "Where is it? Where did it go? The spell... it had to work! We must find the guinzuishou!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is it!" Usagi dove into her two ice cream treats with gusto. "Mmmm! I'm feeling fulfilled! This has got to be the correct way of spending a day off!"

"Usagi-chan, if you eat too much you'll gain weight," Makoto warned.

"But how am I supposed to stop?"

"You shouldn't be stuffing your face at a time like this, odango atama," Rei said. "We have to find Happosai. He's probably going to demand all sorts of ecchi things for those Rainbow Crystals..."

"What if he's given them to the Dark Kingdom?" Ami worried.

"Then we really are shafted," Makoto said. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Oh! There she is!" Ami pointed into the crowd. "Minako!"

Usagi waved. "Hey! Over here! Minako-san!" The Senshi headed for their final member.

Minako looked up from a letter she was reading. Artemis was at her feet. "It's them!" he whispered. "It's really them! Luna!"

"Oh, hi!" Minako said. "So you guys are the...uhm... pen pals?" She fell into step with them as they headed to a park for a more discreet discussion.

"Whatcha reading?" Usagi asked. "Is that from a boyfriend?"

"Some guy named Ranma," Minako said. "Telling me all about you guys, and him. I thought it was really weird, getting a letter the day after moving in from England..."

Rei nodded. "He does that. He basically knows everything before it happens. He told us about you months ago."

"That's kinda creepy," Minako said. "Somebody knowing so much about you before you even meet. And this thing about changing from a boy to a girl - that's just too weird."

"I know!" Usagi said. "It's still wierd to us. You HAVE to see it for yourself."

"What's he like? Is he a hunk?"

"Yeah, but he's taken. By a bunch of people, he says."

Minako was crestfallen. "Always that way with guys... Why can't I find a good one?"

They arrived at the park. Haruka and Michiru were waiting. "So... this is Sailor V? Or should we call her Venus?"

Minako was about to ask something when it happened. A light blazed forth in the air in front of Usagi. Everyone felt themselves shift into Senshi costumes, Usagi going through a two-stage transformation from civilian to Senshi to a fancy flowing white gown with silver trim.

The light seemed like it should be blinding, but the Senshi gazed on it with open eyes; it was soothing, healing, inspiring feelings of warmth and safety. Usagi held her hand out to it, grasped it; it became solid, a silvery-white crystal, the glow fading.

"What... what just happened?" she asked, looking at the sky, as if the answers might be found there.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What was all this about?" Ryoga asked. "Wishes? From that sword?" He bopped Ranma on the head. "Why didn't you tell me!"

Ranma rubbed the bump on his head, then stuck the sword in the ground. He began walking in the direction of Tokyo. "Some medieval legend. Sword in a stone. I think the rule was... 'The one millionth unique person to try to pull it on this date will succeed, and get three wishes.'"

"Three wishes... Do you know what I could have done with three wishes!"

"Other than what I just did for you? I'd guess you want to be invincible again."

"Well, yeah... that... but maybe..."

"Maybe what? Find a girlfriend? Gee... now that you can find your way around maybe there'll be a point to it. I mean, how could you keep up a romance if you're getting lost all the time?"

"MY PARENTS DID IT!" Ryoga moved to bash Ranma again, but this time he dodged.

"Oh, yeah. You might want to say hello to them, now that you can..."

Kuno's voice now came from behind them. "Hold! You shall not escape the justice of the Gods, Saotome! Those wishes were destined for me! Now you have wasted them!"

"Gee, thanks!" Ranma shouted back. "All I did was SAVE THE WORLD!"

"Prepare yourself," Kuno said, adopting a stance.

Ryoga watched as Ranma again casually demolished Kuno. "Keep it up, Kuno," he said as he dusted off his hands. "You actually lasted thirty seconds that time. Maybe next time you'll break a minute."

"Are you just going to leave him with that sword?" Ryoga asked as they started walking again.

"The wishes are gone, but it's still got enough magic to kill youma. That ought to help..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Some hours later at the Nekohanten, there was a full meeting of the Senshi, minus Pluto, with Cologne, Shampoo, and Ukyo. Everyone was back in civilian guise. Introductions were made, notes were compared, and love advice given.

Cologne had just gotten off the phone. "That was Ranma," she reported. "He will be back late tonight, so we will have to wait until morning for a full strategy meeting."

"Did you tell him about what happened here?" Usagi asked.

"He said he caused it," Cologne said. "He was going to get a powerful magical item that would solve a few of our problems. It seems he solved more than he bargained for." She explained the Wishbringer to the group, and the wishes Ranma had made.

"Awfully convenient, I'd say," Haruka said. "Having something like that turn up just when we need it most."

"He knew what to do with it," Michiru said. "He only used one wish on himself, and for something that helps him work with someone else."

"Another on Ryoga, so he won't get lost," Rei said. "He kept showing up at our temple. I wonder if we'll ever see him again now..."

"Do you think Ranma is trying to patch things up with Ryoga?" Ami asked. "Make friends with him? He did make sure his Jusenkyo curse was cured before, and now he fixes something else that's wrong with him..."

"Or maybe he's just recruiting," Haruka speculated. "After what you said he did against Zoicite, maybe Ranma thinks he can be a valuable asset."

"He's more than just an 'asset'," Makoto said with a touch of annoyance. "He's one of our friends now!"

"Nevertheless," Cologne said, "there may be some truth to that. He had more than his usual power level against Zoicite, but even at his normal power level he's a formidable fighter. We could use him in our final battle."

"Yeah!" Ukyo said. "So when do we attack?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Haruka said. "Time out. We just got here. We need time to figure this stuff out for ourselves."

"Yeah! I've just made a bunch of new friends!" Minako said. "We need to go shopping together!" Luna and Artemis both sweatdropped at that.

"There may not be time," Cologne said. "Ranma's original plan was to have you all take a few weeks to get to know each other before invading. The way things sound, not all that much may have changed, but we will have to wait for Ranma to check out the near future thoroughly before we know for sure."

"When will he be back, then?" Usagi asked.

"Not until tomorrow," Cologne conceded. "Perhaps we should all -"

"GO SHOPPING!" Usagi said. "Minako-chan has the right idea! Let's hit it!"

Cologne sighed. "Children..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Oh, Ranma! Welcome home!" Kasumi said as she prepared breakfast. He had to have come back very late at night. "How was your trip? Did you get what you were looking for?"

"Morning, Kasumi," Ranma yawned. "Yep. Get everything I needed. Not afraid of cats anymore."

"Then you wouldn't mind if we adopted a kitten?"

Was she actually... TEASING him? Didn't matter. "Go right ahead. Anyone seen the old freak?"

"Probably out on a raid," Akane said.

"A little more than that, maybe..." Ranma shook his head. "I'll probably run into him soon anyway."

He knew, however, it would be in the wrong place.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Beryl was looking... concerned. That worried her surviving youma and generals. When she was concerned about something, she tended to take it out on her subordinates.

"Kunzite, Magnetite, report. Have you found the guinzuishou?"

"The humans have noted a disturbance at a park in the Sailor Senshis' territory," Kunzite said. "Humans for nearly a mile around were affected. They reported a euphoric effect, and some sick and injured humans are reported healing or recovering at an accelerated rate."

"That will be the effect we would expect," Beryl mused. "So... in Sailor Senshi territory, you say? Does that mean they have it?"

"It would make sense," Magnetite said. "I expect it was attuned to one of them, likely Sailor Moon."

Beryl gritted her teeth. "She must not have learned to use it yet, or we would all be destroyed! We must find her and defeat her!"

"Your majesty," Kunzite said, "I recommend we lure them to a location of our choosing. With proper preparations, we can have a power advantage over them."

Beryl nodded, but then turned to Magnetite. Divide and rule had its uses, but now she could not risk losing the guinzuishou to petty rivalries, not when they were so close. "Magnetite, how would you get the guinzuishou from the Senshi?"

"The idea is sound," Magnetite allowed, "but the Senshi have been known to keep members and allies in reserve. I would continue to gather information, perhaps use only one youma at a time to see if any new Senshi show up, until we are sure their numbers are complete."

"You would dither while the Senshi learn to use the power of the guinzuishou!" Kunzite barked. "Wars are won with speed and strength. I will send as many youma as necessary to defeat them when they and their human allies appear."

"Very well, Kunzite. Proceed with your plan," Beryl ordered.

Kunzite saluted and teleported away to start his operation. Magnetite returned to his own command center to supervise his prisoner.

He adjusted the tiara slightly on Happosai's head. The diminutive lecher immediately felt the effect. "Oh! No! Don't go! Don't leave me! My pretties... come back..."

"We wish to go somewhere," he said, knowing his voice would be heard as a plausible female voice from one of his fantasy women. "To where Ranma goes when he meets with his friends. Do you know where they meet?"

"Oh... of course... there are a couple of restaraunts he goes to... did you want that Amazon place, or the one his fiancee owns...?"

Magnetite smiled. It should not take long to find out where the people important to Sailor Pluto, or 'Ranma' as this small man seemed to know him, could be found when he was not protecting them. And then they were sure to get at least one.

"To set the perfect trap, you need the right bait..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: I should have started writing this years ago, when I first had the idea. As it is, it's going to be a bit rushed in spots. I wish I could add sections with random character interaction, and give Shampoo more lines. But with so many characters to work with, it seems like someone always gets squeezed out...

Next chapter may take a while, I have some real life issues to sort out. Meawhile, suggestions for brushing up earlier chapters are welcome.


	23. Gambles

Chapter 23: Gambles

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga reached out a trembling hand. He could not believe his eyes! It was true! They were here!

"Mother... Father... you're HOME! We're all HOME!"

"Ryoga!"

"Son! Dear!"

The three shared a family embrace. "It's been such a rare sight in my life... to see the both of you at once..." He could see very little now, with his eyes blinded by tears. "Welcome home!"

"It's a miracle!" his mother said. "I was near Nagoya... or was it Kobe...? I was struck by a bolt of lightning, and ever since then..."

"Me too," his father said. "I was in Hiroshima, I think. Since that time, when I try to get somewhere, I don't get lost anymore!"

"He did it... he really did it... Ranma cured us..." Ryoga didn't know what to think. His greatest curse... defeated by his greatest rival. "Why...?"

"You know something about this, son?" his father asked.

"If you know how this happened, please, tell us!" his mother insisted.

"Ranma... I thought you were my enemy... but now... you may be the greatest friend a man could have..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma felt strange. It had been over six years now since he had been able to look at a cat without going out of his mind with fear. Now, at last, he didn't. It felt all the more strange that these cats did something he had never seen - or heard - cats do before: they talked.

"Pleased to be able to see you at last, Ranma. I am Luna," the dark cat said.

"And I am Artemis," the white one added.

Ranma poked a finger at their faces. He giggled. "I did it," he said softly. "I really did it. I'm cured!"

"Well, we get to see a softer side of him now," Ukyo said. "I knew Ranchan had it in him! I think he was always supposed to be a cat person."

"He was afraid of cats before? That must have been tough on Luna," Minako said.

Luna hung her head in exasperation. "I was beginning to feel a bit left out..."

"Well, now you're not!" Usagi beamed. "So, whaddaya think? Has he been as good a manager as you?"

"Well, his information was a bit more detailed than mine ever was..."

"Well, yeah," Ranma conceded, "but it's kind of a pain to maintain. Specially when Happosai does stuff. It keeps changing."

"That theft was a big change," Cologne pointed out. "We were going to keep the last wish in reserve."

"Well, I could have told you to wish to get the Dark Kingdom's crystals back!" Usagi said. "If fact, you should have told the rest of us! I could have used a wish for myself!" The Inners all chimed in on that.

"Most of you would waste it on a boyfriend..." Luna sweatdropped.

"Hey! A boyfriend is not a wasted wish!" Minako insisted. "Love is important!"

Haruka chuckled at that. "Boyfriends come and go," she said.

"You'd want to ask for something more permanent," Michiru agreed.

"Well, then I'd just ask for a husband!" Minako said.

"At our age?" Rei objected. "It's way too early for that!"

"Tell me about it," Ranma said with a sigh. "I got the opposite problem. Fiancees I DON'T want. If I had a free wish I'd ask for Pop and Mr. Tendo to lay off."

"Well, I have a future husband," Usagi said, hugging Mamoru. "I guess if I want to be smart about it... Hey! That's it! I'd ask to be as smart as Ami-chan! Then I wouldn't have to worry about exams!"

Ranma looked at her with something approaching respect. "That... actually would be good for you," he said.

"But how long did it take to figure that out, baka?" Rei teased.

"I'm sure I wouldn't waste all of them before I got to that one!"

"Why keep the last wish in reserve?" Michiru wanted to know. "Wouldn't our situation be helped most by wishing for the Rainbow Crystals the Dark Kingdom had? Then we'd still be where we are now."

"I wanted to do some more investigations," Ranma said. "I wanted to see if it could help contain Happosai until we're finished. With him out of the picture, we could have won Kunzite's challenge for the crystals pretty easy. Everything after that goes smoothly too."

"Well, now they need the whole guinzuishou," Artemis said. "What are they going to try?"

Ranma settled down at a table. "At some point Kunzite will want an open challenge like Jadeite," he said. "Get all of us in view. It's not looking like we can hide our full strength until then."

"Unless we can get some new allies," Michiru pointed out. "Do you have any other martial artist friends you can call on?"

Ranma made a face. "My pop and me were pretty good at making enemies and leaving bad impressions..."

"What about Sailor Saturn?" Usagi asked. "Are you still having trouble seeing her?"

"You don't want to go there," Haruka said. "What we remembered of Sailor Saturn ... she would be worse than the Dark Kingdom."

"No way!" Usagi said. "WORSE than them?"

Michiru nodded. "The Dark Kingdom only wants to rule the world. If Sailor Saturn were awakened... she would destroy it."

The Inners were all depressed at that. Ranma's next news didn't cheer them up. "There's worse. It looks like Happosai is fully siding with them."

"What does that mean?" Haruka asked.

"It means we won't be able to predict them anymore..." Ukyo said in horror.

"The next fight with Kunzite I can see clearly," Ranma said. "After that, I think, they start using him."

"Alright," Rei said, "so what's the next battle like?"

"Falling back on luring us to a fight. Kunzite has some trick where he can turn humans into youma, so we'll need cleansing."

"Don't worry about it!" Usagi said with enthusiasm. "I'm right on it!"

"Not right away, you're not," Ranma said. "He's going to try preparing the ground. There will be all kinds of their own youma in reserve."

"So we catch them when they arrive to prepare," Ukyo said.

"It might be better if we keep some of our own people in reserve. I want to visit the place later this week to get a better picture of youma placements and everything. And some will come out of the sky. We'll have to pick them up as they arrive."

"Sounds like a mess," Usagi said in disgust.

"It does sound like they are getting smarter," Cologne said. "We will need to keep getting stronger if we want to defeat them in the long term."

"I think I can kill a youma in two shots now," Mokoto said.

"Might want to work on a chain lightning attack too," Ranma added. "If they're going to try to smother us with numbers, we'll want area attacks."

"If you can line them up..." Haruka suggested.

"We can work on stuff in practice. For now, let's just see where they are..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After the meeting, the group broke up, with the older teens moving away in a separate group from the younger. When Ukyo left to get to work at her own diner, Haruka asked Ranma to stay for a bit.

"The kids were down about the death toll in the big battle," she said. "But you went for their general, didn't you? If you hadn't, you might have saved more lives."

Ranma tried to gauge what Haruka was getting at. Was that look on her... admiration? "It was the best way. That didn't mean I had to like it. It's not the way my pop trained me. He trained me to protect EVERYONE. To give it my all, all the time. He was training me to fight battles, not wars. I only had to win the day. Tomorrow was a different day. A different battle."

"And now it's all the same battle," Michiru said.

Haruka nodded. "I understand. Kind of like the samurai who gives up a hand to finish the enemy off. If he doesn't, his body may be intact, but it's still him and not the other guy who dies."

"This curse I have... it really IS a curse," Ranma seethed. "More than just what I look like, how people want to treat me. It's making it hard for me to be what I'm supposed to be."

"And what are you supposed to be? Does it really matter so much that you be a guy all the time?"

"It's going to matter to my mother. If she finds out I turn into a girl, she forces me to commit seppuku. Seriously. It's a matter of life or death."

"Forces you to...?" Haruka laughed at this. "That's pretty dumb. With what else I've heard about your situation I wondered why you hadn't just gone ronin or something. They mean so much to you?"

"There's still a chance I could break this curse soon. Then there's no problems. I just got to keep going forward."

Haruka looked at Michiru for a moment. "You're a lot like me, then. I want to live without regrets. Never look back, and just be yourself." The pair went their own way.

Ranma headed back to home for the night. "Seems a lot like Ucchan, the way she looks and acts like a guy... I wonder if they would be friends." He would ask Ukyo about her impressions later. For now, he had other concerns.

"Kunzite, and someone else... who is he? And what's his game?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite watched Ranma split from the other new faces. "New Senshi? Well. Isn't Kunzite going to be in for a nasty surprise?" *And Beryl will see my view was correct...*

He noticed a squirrel following Ranma along the rooftops. Normally squirrels stuck to trees, and if there were none, streets. And they could be territorial: they should not venture through built-up areas with no vegetation, as around here. He adjusted his sight, looking into the ether. "Dark energy... something familiar about the signature... what are you, little one? An animal... or something more?"

The squirrel was moving with intelligence. It stopped close to the Tendo home. Magnetite decided to see what it was about. He reached out with his power, risking detection, drawing the squirrel to his hand before teleporting across the city.

The rodent squealed as he examined it. "I know this energy... one of our own spells. Let me see..." He called on his elemental powers, similar to his rivals, summoning a ball of water and charging it with energy to heat it. He splashed it on the squirrel.

He found himself facing a naked man, backing away in stance. "Who are you?" the young man asked. "Are you an enemy of Ranma?"

Magnetite smiled. "And what if I am?"

"Then we'd be on the same side," the young man said, not relaxing his stance. "I have to warn you: I must be the one to kill him. Then Shampoo will belong to me!"

Magnetite thought it odd that a man would kill to possess hair cleaner. But if he could be a useful weapon... "It seems we are in agreement. Perhaps you'd like to meet some friends of mine..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Elsewhere on the street, Minako was enjoying time spent with her new friends. They had gotten to discussing the older members of the team. "It's too bad Ranma's taken," she said. "Ukyo's lucky to have a guy like him. If only I could find someone like that too..." Her eyes started to glaze as she imagined the possibilities.

"Well, he does seem okay," Rei said, "but I don't think it would work out. He keeps hiding stuff from us."

"Like he doesn't trust us," Makoto said.

"Gee... I wonder why?" Artemis said, sweatdropping.

Minako didn't notice. "If he could just learn to be honest, I'm sure he'd be great. Honesty is the best policy!"

"He told me he doesn't worry about policy," Mamoru said. "He doesn't have to. He just says and does whatever gets results."

"His 'Anything-Goes Style'," Makoto said. "His father basically taught him that martial arts IS life, for them."

"He's kind of like you in a way, Ami-chan," Usagi said. "He studies really hard - only with him it's just martial arts, and you study everything else."

Ami was a bit embarrassed. "Maybe," she admitted. "But studying only one subject is no use. You have to know a lot of different things to do well in school. Isn't Furinkan a lower-tier high school? You want to do well on entrance exams to avoid having to go there."

"No wonder Ranma goes there, then," Minako said.

Rei got an evil grin. She nudged Usagi. "Better study hard, odango atama, or you may end up being Ranma's classmate."

Makoto chuckled. "Usagi going to Furinkan... wouldn't that be a kick..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

There was still a week to go until the next battle with Kunzite. In the meantime Ranma and Ukyo had come to another enemy of their own.

Ukyo as opening her shop for the day when it started. "Another day at the salt mines..." She suddenly sensed an attack. "Hm? Danger...? Who's there!" She threw a spread of spatulas.

They passed through a similar array of cards heading the opposite way. Ukyo caught them and formed them into a hand.

"Heh heh heh... You lose, Ukyo," a voice said. "You hold only a pair. Whereas I hold... THIS!" A rotund figure stepped forward holding another hand. "A royal flush!"

A vein popped on Ukyo's forehead. "Oh no. Time for you already?"

"Already?" the Gambling King said. "It's been ten years. Plenty of time for you to get your house in order. Go tell your boyfriend I'm coming for what's mine!"

That she did. "So... are you ready, Ranchan?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he said, not sounding too confident.

"You still don't have a good poker face," she worried.

"He cheats," Ranma said. "This'll just be a crazy fight."

As if to prove his point a giant six-sided die - a painted wooden box - came flying at him. "Snake eye!" the Gambling King said.

Ranma intercepted it in midair and knocked it back at the King. "Or is it boxcars for you?"

The King pushed the die off of himself. "You should know better than to try your luck against the Gambling King! For ten years... 520 weeks... 3,653 days... I have waited to defeat you. You should feel honored!"

"I can imagine," Ranma huffed, giving the King a boot to the face.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Gambling King sat down with Ranma, Ukyo, Genma, and the Tendos, explaining the gambling loss of Ramna and Ukyo and their subsequent treachery. They openly admitted what they had done. "...We wrapped him up like sushi and threw him in the river," Ukyo finished.

"You... what?" Akane said. "No wonder he hates you so much!"

"You see?" the King said. "I'M the victim here!"

"You were using a pack of all Jokers," Ranma reminded him. "So who's a victim?"

"Have you forgotten? I still hold the papers!"

Soun now made his opinion known. "If you made an agreement, you must live up to it," he said. "Ranma... hand over whatever you promised him, and have him go on his way."

"If you want what I owe you," Ukyo said, pointing to Genma, "talk to HIM. He ripped off our okonomiyaki cart!"

Genma tried to evade. "Well, er, let me see if I can find it... I must have it around here somewhere..." He began to inch away.

Ranma blocked him. "Let me give you a hint: You ditched it a few days later when it ran out of food." Genma did his best to disappear between the cracks of the floorboards.

"Well, in any case..." The Gambling King dug into his travelling pouch. "I can at least collect what Ranma lost to me."

"Ranma? What did you bet?" Akane asked.

Ranma declined to answer, leaving the King to show it to them all. It was a handwritten note: "Entitles the bearer to ownership of the Tendo Dojo. Signed, Ranma Saotome." There was a handprint in lieu of a signature. "As we agreed," the King said, "I will take the Tendo Dojo!"

There was a moment of stunned silence. Soun broke it, raising his Demon Head aura at Ranma. "Heh heh heh heh heh..." Ranma could only cower in shame.

Akane's anger was rising. "Ranma... you are so... STUPID!" She knocked him out the side door into the koi pond.

The King got up to leave. "I'll be back tomorrow to move in. Please be ready to move out. Good night!"

"Well... it's a legal document..." Soun mused.

"You're calling THAT a legal document!" Ukyo was aghast. "It's a child's handwritten note! There were no other witnesses!"

"That doesn't matter," Soun judged, in a stunning display of obtuseness. He grabbed Ranma-chan as she emerged from the pond. "You lost it... YOU GET IT BACK!" He kicked Ranma-chan through the roof.

Nabiki smirked. "I'd love to know how he's going to manage this, if he still has a terrible poker face."

Ukyo tried to adopt a friendly face. "I don't suppose you'd like to help...?"

Nabiki huffed and looked away. "You want my help...?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That night Ranma stayed at Ucchan's. Akane showed up to listen at their door.

She hear Ukyo speak. "Nabiki said you had to have seen this coming. If you wanted her help you should have chosen her."

"Figures she'd say that," Ranma said. "We all know that's crap. Especially her. She only protects what's hers. And ownership isn't a two-way street for her. I'm not the one that has to choose her. SHE has to choose ME."

"Maybe if we had just let her down easy, instead of the way we did..."

"It's going to come out the same. She won't get involved until there's a stake for her. She won't care about the dojo, only the house when her pop loses it."

Akane cringed at that. *Dad is going to lose the house?* She listened more intently.

"So do WE care about the dojo? Are we going to settle down here?" Ukyo wondered. "If you're not marrying into the family, you could just leave them be."

"It's a matter of pride," Ranma said. "I'm a man. I gotta fight for what's mine. I just have to do it on my terms, not his."

"And how DO you get him to fight on your terms?"

"Oh, there's a point where they're about the same..." he said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane quickly returned home to report on what she had overheard. The sisters were soon commiserating. "Ranma said that?" Nabiki said darkly. "Feh. I'd expect nothing less of him."

"Won't you think about it?" Akane asked. "If you can gamble in Dad's place..."

"I'm sure he'll do fine."

"But Ranma was talking to Ukyo when he said that," Kasumi said. "Why would he...?"

"Do you really think he wouldn't know Akane was listening?" She turned to Akane. "He was using you. I'm not going to play his game."

"You'd better be right," Akane said. "If you're not, you'd better get ready to play."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Oblivious to events in Nerima at this time, Kunzite was scouting his terrain. Keen tactical eyes evaluated the downtown store he intended to use as a battleground.

"Plant one here... another there..." The youma at his side, disguised as a human secretary, took notes on a clipboard. The glamour he employed convinced store employees he was a manager from the chain headquarters.

"Twelve in the store... twelve on the roofs. That should catch the Senshi."

"What will be our signal to attack?" the youma asked.

"You will each be given numbers," Kunzite said. "I will call out numbers over the store PA. Only attack when your number is called. I expect the Senshi and their allies will not show themselves all at once. Sailor Moon usually shows herself first, but when she gets in trouble the others will appear to save her. I will keep your team members in reserve and activate them as needed."

"And if they do not all show up? What if not all of us are needed?" she asked.

"So much the better for us, then. If the full team takes to long to show up, they will start losing their friends. But I expect they will all show. There will be glory for all of you as they are finally destroyed."

He smiled. Soon, his beloved Zoicite would be fully avenged. Sailor Moon would finally be dead, and the guinzuishou theirs.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The following day the Gambling King made good on his word; a moving van arrived with casino equipment, which was set up in the dojo. He was soon in business, catering mainly to the children of the neighborhood. Nabiki was actually working a table as a part-time employee, to Kasumi's surprise. Genma's work as a barker out front was a bit less surprising.

Soun soon arrived. "Gambling King! I challenge you to a match for the ownership of the Tendo Dojo!"

"It's your funeral," the King said. "What will you give me if you lose?"

Soun held up another hand-written note, with his signature and thumbprint. "No less... than the Tendo family's living room!"

They played Old Maid. Needless to say, Soun quickly found himself with the Joker. "Daddy!" Nabiki said in exasperation.

"Try again!" Soun insisted. "This time I wager the front porch!"

Nabiki began to worry as he lost more of the house: the kitchen, hallway, stairs, bathroom, Akane's room. When he tried to bet Nabiki's room, she knew it was time to intervene.

"Father, it's time to stop," Kasumi said, as Nabiki sat down to play. The Tendo patriarch was becoming a nervous wreck.

The King was not worried. "No matter who challenges me, it will be all the same," he said. "I'll take you for all you have."

Not this time. "You lose!" Nabiki said, as he drew the Joker. "Shall we go again?" The king sat in shock for a moment. "She... she beat me! She did what no one else has been able to..." He began to grumble in rage. "But then... she IS in high school!"

"Maybe he can't beat anyone who knows more than an elementary school student..." Kasumi said.

"That would fit the facts..." Akane noted.

"And what does that say about ME?" Soun cried.

"Should I spell it?" Kasumi asked.

"GAMBLING KING!" Ranma's voice, slightly muffled, now came from the doorway. "I challenge you!"

The family turned to see Ranma and Ukyo had arrived. Ranma's face was covered by a full Kabuki mask. The pair had several packs of cards with them.

The King, fearful of further defeats at Nabiki's hands, jumped at the chance to face someone he knew he could beat. "A mask? Hiding your face will not change your luck."

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Ranma said. "Let's play!"

The King soon found himself wishing he had faced Nabiki after all. "Akane's room! Bathroom! Stairs! Hallway! Living room! Porch!"

"Only the dojo left..." Akane said anxiously. "You can do it, Ranma!"

The King was fearful now; he struggled not to show it. "I am impressed," he said. "Your skills have improved over the years. But you will still not beat me. I will bet some other properties I have against the entire Tendo house."

"On one condition," he said.

"Name it," the King said uneasily.

Ranma began removing his shirt. "We do this stripped to the waist."

"If that will include removing your mask," the King replied.

Ranma took the mask off as well, handing it to Ukyo. The Gambling King was shocked to see his face covered with bandages. "You injured yourself...?"

"Trianing for a poker face," Ranma explained. "I wanted to make sure this was a fair game. To prove that I could beat you."

"You mean... I was your personal test...?" The King was now honestly impressed. "I'm sorry, Ranma Saotome!"

"Then you understand?"

"Here are two cards," the King said, holding up the Joker and the ace of spades. He rubbed them between his hands quickly to shuffle them, then placed them face down on the floor. "Fair and square. If you pick the Joker, you lose."

"Okay!" Ranma crouched in stance, left arm outstretched. "Here goes!" His hand darted down and up, coming away with a card. He showed it to all.

It was the ace.

"Ranma... SON!" Soun exclaimed. There was applause from the whole family and the children that had gathered to watch. The expression on the King's face was priceless, jaw dropped in shock.

"Looks like you lose, King," Ukyo said. "Now pack up and move out!"

"I'll be generous," Ranma said. "You can keep your other properties if you agree to leave us alone."

"Hey!" Nabiki said. "Can't we at least look at their books first?"

"Feh," Ranma said dismissively. "If you think ripping off a gambling den is dangerous, wait till you try RUNNING one."

The King padded out to the street, still dumbfounded. "I don't get it. I could have sworn I put down two Jokers..."

"Come along, children," Kasumi said. "The games are over here. We need our dojo back." The children complained, but went as asked.

The rest of the family went back into the house. Ranma noticed something as he walked in. "I'm gonna wash up," he said, leaping up to the second floor.

"That's funny," Akane wondered. "Who'd leave a window open up there at this time of year...?"

"What I'd like to know," Nabiki asked Ukyo, "is how he won? Did the King really play fair?"

"Of course not!" Ukyo said, showing Nabiki the inside of the Kabuki mask. There were a few extra cards in it. "Just sleight of hand. If the King was going to cheat, so were we."

Nabiki smiled. "But why not in girl form? Wouldn't he need to see the whole game?"

Ukyo shook her head. "You saw the King's face? He can't exactly hide his card hands, either. Ranchan didn't really do anything to injure his face, he just needed to hide his expressions."

"Ahhh. He saw the King's telltales."

"And he didn't want to have to be the Gambling Queen. Could have been another guy after his girl side."

Nabiki giggled at that, and headed up to her room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Haruka finished her stretching and looked down the railroad tracks.

She often used this stretch of intercity rail line for time trials: it was a relatively straight and flat two miles. The late autumn-early winter chill was invigorating. There was even a wind at her back, about twenty miles an hour according to the weather report; a light rain was expected later. It could be just another daily run.

But today would be a run like none before it. Not for her, not for anyone. She knew very well what Haruka Tenoh could do in the 1500 meters. Time to see what Sailor Uranus could do.

"URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

She set the stopwatch, put on her protective glasses, took her position, crouched down along the side of the tracks as if waiting for a gun. A horn sounded behind her. A rushing and ratcheting sound began to rise: wheels clattering, a large diesel engine running, the wind being dragged by hundreds of tons of steel. She wondered what the passengers would think, seeing a girl in outlandish costume running alongside at this hour.

In her mind, the gun went off. She started the watch and exploded off her mark.

The first push carried her an absurd distance - was it possible she had just become the first person to do the 100 meters in ONE JUMP? The second step was even more powerful. Left, right, left, right, bounding along the landscape like gravity had gotten weaker. Was this what the lunar astronauts had experienced?

The locomotive was now ahead of her, gaining on her. But not as fast as it should be. The wind at her back, so steady now, faded and died, then began to pick up from the front.

She was exhilarated. She had CAUGHT THE WIND!

She kept pressing, harder, faster, pushing off with ever greater force. The land began to speed by. The wind in her face fought back, ever harder, feeling more like she was on her bike going flat out. Her eyes darted to the train again. Was it...? Yes. It was inching back.

She was almost surprised to see her usual finish line coming up, a fence post at the foot of a hill. She hit the stopwatch as she ran through, leaping into the air and using the hill to burn off momentum.

It took some distance to come to a full stop. She saluted the gawking passengers in the cars roaring by. She looked back on the stretch she had just run.

*A real super hero! Faster than a speeding locomotive! I should try to leap a tall building...*

She checked the time on the watch. Fifty-seven seconds.

She fell to the ground, still huffing. Under a minute! And her form had been terrible. She wasn't used to this type of running, operating at this power level. She might yet shave seconds off her time. Perhaps the 5000 meters was a more appropriate distance for gauging this level of performance.

Too bad she would never get in the record books this way. She could imagine the IOC would declare magical enhancement no different from steroids. "WAAAYYY more powerful..." she breathed. "I'm as good as my machines now."

Better than any machine. Better than any youma... she hoped. She would have to see if the Dark Kingdom could find anything to match her.

No. Something that could come close, perhaps. But she could not let them match her. Not with the stakes being what they were. These powers weren't for her vanity. They were for the safety of the world.

She got up and headed for home, ready to tackle the entire Dark Kingdom if need be.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A few days later, Ranma knocked on Nabiki's door. "I'm heading into town. I won't be back for a while. Maybe not ever."

Nabiki looked at him knowingly. "Gee, you don't have to make it sound so dramatic, Ranma. I'm sure you'll come through like you always do."

"Oh, I'll beat the snot out of the youma," he said. "The problem is you."

"Moi?" she asked mischievously. "What could I have done?"

"Don't play coy. You called my mother."

"I did. What's wrong with that? It's a little suspicious that you didn't do it before now, isn't it?"

"It's not time yet. We're both not ready. If she finds out about my curse, she's gonna freak."

"Yeah, well, I have a big problem with YOU. Your mother is going to be here but you don't want to see her. I've got a little secret for you: there are people here that no matter how hard they wish, can never see their mother again."

"Don't say I don't want to see her," Ranma said darkly. "No one wants to see her more than me. I just CAN'T. Not without..." He shook his head. "Better you hear it from her. I can MEET her, but we just gotta make sure she doesn't find out about the curse. Not till after I'm cured."

"Ranma..." Nabiki said after a few moments of silence, "I'm not going to try to make a profit off of this. Just... talk to her while she's still around."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite watched from the security center of the store as his youma got into position. The actress hosting the karaoke competition was getting the crowd fired up. He looked through the camera views for signs of the Senshis' allies, who had no glamour to change their faces.

He was suspicious when he saw what looked like Sailor Moon herself, dressed in civilian clothes and escorting an aged woman on a staff. The blond hair gathered in two balls with streamers coming down from them was a dead giveaway. So, the Senshi knew about the ambush and was going to try to counter? Well, they would not find it so easy.

He looked through the other monitors, but found no conclusive matches, as expected; the other Senshi were not of distinctive appearance. No matter. They would reveal themselves to save their leader, and then they would find Kunzite had a few surprises of his own.

It was nearly time. He felt very cool, in spite of the risk - he had committed most of his available youma to this operation. It surely had to work.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma-chan was getting annoyed. She could see very little of what happened a few days hence - other than that Happosai seemed to show up. Exactly where, and what he would do, were subject to his usual variability.

Nabiki was another annoyance for being uncooperative. It was now virtually certain she would explain Ranma's curse before learning how serious Mrs. Saotome would be about the seppuku contract. She would have to stay away from home a few weeks.

She focused on the battle before her. The Senshi were inside the store, ready for a cascade sequence battle: one youma appears, one Senshi counters, then dodges as the next youma appeared. They were outnumbered in the store, and Ukyo hadn't had enough trap material to delay all of the youma; it would be up to martial arts skills to delay them.

She found Shampoo and Cologne among the housewares. "Five minutes," she said in a low voice. "My staff is in place?"

"It's there," Cologne said. "Be careful with it. It's the last good one we have."

"Lady must have own staff," Shampoo guessed.

"Indeed," Cologne said. "I should wonder why it was not with the gear Luna had. Or why it was not simply attached to you, as the transformation pen was."

"Considering how she died," Ranma said, "I think it's a pretty safe bet the bad guys have it."

Cologne was, if anything, even more sober. "Then there's a chance they may use it against us?"

"They haven't yet," Ranma said. "Maybe they can't. But if they figure out a way ... I'll have to be prepared. Whatever that may take."

They parted ways, the Amazons moving in the direction of the stage where a karaoke contest was being hosted by some minor actress who Ranma had said would become a youma. Ranma left the store for a nearby building, where she found her silver-cored tungsten staff on the roof.

She checked her lines and sighted along the staff. Then opened her communicator - she, Haruka, and Michiru had gotten together with Luna to search the subspace pocket where the Senshi's gear had been stored. It had turned out the Outers had their own pocket, which they accessed after some amount of meditation.

"The sea is rising," Neptune said from her end.

"And the sky is growing dark," Uranus said, not referring to the clouds over their heads.

"The time is right," Ranma said, and closed the watch.

"PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo stood in the lingerie, listening to the music from the contest and watching with one eye. Any second now...

Right on schedule, the audience began collapsing. She put earplugs in her ears, watching Shampoo and Cologne doing the same, and readied her spatulas. There, the position she had been told to watch was suddenly being occupied by a shopper come to gawk. She pulled out a radio transmitter and thumbed the button.

A series of explosions went off around the store. Several unsuspecting shoppers found themselves mired in batter and noodles. Human shoppers began to scream in terror and flee. In the noise and confusion, no one seemed to notice several figures in overlarge coats and hats staying where they were.

Ukyo moved to a large shelf on the wall, pulling her large spatula from behind it. She charged her mark, whacking her over the head.

"OW!" the woman said. She turned to look at her assailant. "You crazy girl! What do you think you're doing!"

Ukyo was suddenly doubtful. Had Ranma gotten the mark wrong? He never had before. She backpedaled. "Oh! I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else!"

"Sorry isn't good enough! I'll sue!" She got up and advanced on Ukyo, shouting an imaginative stream of insults and threats.

Ukyo shrank desperately away from the ranting woman. On the stage, the karaoke host's skin suddenly turned green and her hair flaming orange. She began singing something off-key into her amplifier mike.

A lightning bolt shot out from the apparel racks, destroying it, and continuing for a few seconds around the stage, trashing speakers and audio equipment. The youma didn't bother to go after Jupiter. Instead, a masculine voice called over the PA. "Troubleshooter 3! Respond!"

A shopper near Jupiter's position turned into a youma. Jupiter was already making evasive manoeuvers. Ukyo decided the woman still shouting insults at her was due to be shut up. "Pipe down!" she said, smashing the woman repeatedly over the head with her spatula.

The woman seemed unusually resilient. "That hurts, you know! I'll have you locked up so long -"

Ukyo threw several mini-spatulas at the woman's chest and neck. They dug into the flesh, then popped out. The wounds sealed quickly. "Bah," the youma said, ditching its human disguise. "This was getting boring anyways."

Ukyo led it on a chase through the apparel racks, which the youma quickly began knocking down to clear space. The announcer over the PA had gone crazy: "Troubleshooters one through six! Respond! Troubleshooter ten! Respond! All troubleshooters respond! ALL ACTIVATE!"

Ukyo smiled and continued to dodge the youma. She wondered what fun Ranma was having outside right now.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"WORLD SHAKING!" A youma barely had time to turn around before it was struck by a blazing golden ball and turned to dust.

Uranus opened her communicator watch. "Done with mine! Anyone need help?"

"I'm fine," Neptune reported.

A purple ball of energy shot over the rooftops from her left to her right, smashing through a large sign to kill the youma hiding on the other side. "Done," Pluto said. "Let's take this downtown."

Uranus went back to the roof access on her building and jumped down the stairwell several floors at a time. She literally jumped over the street, smashing through a window to get into the store where chaos now reigned.

There was a limit to how finely Ranma could choreograph the fight; in principle he could give instructions for where to look and move for the whole duration, but it would have overwhelmed them. From this point, she was to look around for whoever needed help. She ducked as some bladed weapon soared near her head and checked the floor.

Fog suddenly obscured her vision - only to be blown away by some sort of wind powers within seconds. She looked for the youma that had used them - "WORLD SHAKING!"

The youma crumbled to dust. She saw Neptune pick off another, then Pluto's shot crashed through no less than three. A glowing disc - Sailor Moon's tiara - began circling the floor, tagging four over the course to two orbits.

A few youma were still on the floor when a wave of dark energy erupted from the stage, knocking her and everyone else down. A man in austere gray uniform - Kunzite - appeared on the stage. He grabbed at 'Sailor Moon' - Shampoo - who was knocked down near the stage. "Give it up, Sailor Moon! Give me the guinzuishou and maybe I will allow you to live!"

Pluto had laid herself flat on the floor just before the wave hit; she popped up immediately, grabbed a fallen clothing rack, and leaped at Kunzite's back. The hit distracted him; the blinding flurry of punches that followed were even more effective. "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Uranus wondered if Ranma were getting a little to much into the Christmas spirit. She got up and prepared to fire her own attack as Shampoo struggled free of Kunzite's grip. Pluto leaped back and reached to recover her own staff from the ground. On Kunzite's other side Neptune was ready to fire as well.

They did not get the chance. Kunzite began radiating waves of dark energy again, keeping them going and pinning everyone to the floor as he addressed Shampoo. "Your tricks are futile! Call as many allies as you wish! They will not help you! Hand over the guinzuishou now or your friends will perish!"

Uranus struggled to rise against the pressure for what seemed like minutes. No one could get anywhere, least of all the fake Sailor Moon. Shampoo gritted her teeth and glared defiance at Kunzite, determined not to lose the battle of wills even if she could not answer his power directly.

A bright light erupted near the entrance to the store. A wave of power washed across the floor, pushing back against the darkness. Uranus found the pressure subsiding. She began to stand, moving around Kunzite toward Pluto. Neptune inched toward Pluto from the other side.

Kunzite's attention was now drawn to the light. He looked from the source to Shampoo and back again. "Ah. I see now. Another trick. Little good it did you! Now the true Sailor Moon is revealed! Now you will die!" He pressed his attack, focusing his energy on Sailor Moon, who had now transformed again into her princess dress.

The weakening of the pressure waves allowed all the others to stand. "We'll only get one shot at this!" Pluto said. "Let's do it!"

Everybody pounced at once. "FIRE SOUL!" "SUPREME THUNDER!" "CRESCENT BEAM!" "SHABON SPRAY!" "WORLD SHAKING!" "DEEP SUBMERGE!" "DEAD SCREAM!" "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Kunzite was hit from all angles, but hardest from the back, where the Outers were clustered. He hit the floor, power visibly weakening. His face registered shock for an instant, then disgust. "So... you have learned to use the guinzuishou," he said, looking at Sailor Moon, "and you have more powerful Senshi with you. I will not underestimate you again." He teleported away.

Everyone gathered at the center of the store. Mercury checked the actress-turned-youma, now changed back after getting caught in the wash from Sailor Moon's cleansing. It was evident she would be all right.

Everyone else was on the lookout for the youma that had still been active at the time Kunzite had showed up. There was no sign of them now. "Where did they go?" Venus asked.

"I'm not reading anything," Mercury said. "I think they all left with Kunzite."

"I thought I saw one of them die from Sailor Moon's attack," Mars said. "I hope we got them all after all."

"I'd hate to have to hunt down rogue youma all week," Pluto said. "I'll keep on the lookout. Let's clear out." She motioned to the store entrance, where several news crews were getting footage of the battle.

They headed for the rooftops to escape, heading their separate ways.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Pluto detransformed on the way back to Nerima, then met up with Ukyo.

"What a mess," Ukyo said. "I bet Akane will be sore at missing the action."

"She'll have other things to worry about," Ranma-chan said. "My mother is visiting."

"Your mother? Did't you say she wasn't due for a while yet?"

"Nabiki's calling her in early. It's going to be very tricky. I have to control things, to make sure she doesn't find out about the curse yet."

"Are you going as a guy or a girl?"

Ranma considered that. "It might be safer if I meet her in girl form, and say I'm a cousin or something. I could see everything just before it happens. If I try to go as a guy, I'd want at least a day to figure everything out. It could be an awful lot of stuff to remember."

"I'll help! I can vouch for you!"

"Thanks, Ucchan. That'll be a big help..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Other than Nabiki, the Tendos were unaware of the events downtown. Even as the battle was ended, the doorbell at the Tendo home was ringing. "I'll get it!" Nabiki said.

Akane initially dismissed it as one of her sister's contacts from school. She became curious when Nabiki led a thirtysomething woman in kimono and carrying something long and wrapped in cloth into the living room.

Genma was playing shogi with Soun. He was not one to be polite, and did not want to give Soun the chance to rearrange pieces on the board during a distraction. This distraction, however, he could not ignore when she recognized him. "Husband! So it is true! Where is he? Where is my Ranma?"

Game suddenly forgotten, Genma cowered in fear. "I-I... think he's out on a training trip! Uh... let me go get him! It might only take a few days!" He darted out the side door. His wife followed him into the yard, but he disappeared over the rooftops, leaving her standing there frustrated.

Akane was at her side, looking in the direction Genma had fled. "Wait... you called him 'husband'? Then you would be Ranma's...?"

"Everyone," Nabiki announced, "I'd like you to meet Mrs. Saotome. Ranma's mother."

Soun was intrigued. "Really? Strange your husband hasn't mentioned you."

Mrs. Saotome sat down as Kasumi went to make some tea. "I'm not surprised. He was always embarrassed about me. But what of my son? Is Ranma really going to be back soon?"

"Well, he did go out on an errand, actually," Nabiki said, "something that might take a few days. Why? How long has it been since you last saw him?"

"Not since he was two years old..." she said wistfully. "He probably doesn't even remember me..."

"Oh, he's mentioned you," Kasumi said, returning with the tea, "but he said he wasn't ready to meet you yet. Or you weren't ready to meet him... one or the other ..."

"So... Mrs. Saotome ..." Soun said, "the whole time that Mr. Saotome and Ranma have been traveling, you've been home all alone...?"

"Yes. I was waiting at home... I was so heartbroken at losing my Ranma..." She explained about her husband taking their son, and her conditions for allowing it.

"Take... their own lives...?" Everyone stared in disbelief.

"For a long time Genma kept me posted on their travels. But suddenly, for some reason, he stopped writing... just when they were about to visit some 'magic springs' in China..."

The Tendos pondered this, knowing what it meant. "But Mrs. Saotome," Akane asked, "you wouldn't hold him to that, would you? Suicide is so... extreme!"

She replied by unwrapping the cloth covering of the object she carried. It was a sword, good steel. A family honor blade. She tried to draw it, only to throw it out onto the porch. "I'm so sorry!" she said. "I'm not good at handling this..."

She produced a written copy of the vow from her kimono. "I too come from a martial arts family... I know how sacred such vows are. Should it turn out that Ranma has not become a man among men, I shall humbly serve as his kaishaku, and then follow them to the grave by slitting my own throat with the same sword."

The atmosphere of the room had gotten gloomy. She tried to lighten the mood. "But why does it matter? I'm sure Ranma is as manly as can be!"

"Oh, every bit..." Soun said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"But... when will I ever see my manly son?" Nodoka was now wistful. "I DO wish I could have seen him... even for just a moment..."

"Well," Nabiki said, "your husband and son are staying with us. But Ranma just went out on a training trip today, and your husband did just go to get him. As he said, it might take a few days..."

"But if Ranma isn't ready..." Kasumi sounded worried. It seemed clear to her that Ranma had reason to avoid her now.

"It doesn't matter if he is fully ready," Nodoka said. "I would like to see what progress he is making. If you don't mind, may I stay a few days? Just to see him?"

"Oh, w-we can't send you away this late!" Kasumi said. It was, indeed, now after dark.

There was a knock at the door. It was Ukyo and Ranma-chan. Kasumi greeted them. "Oh, Kuonji-san... and your friend..."

"Setsuna," Ranma-chan supplied.

"Ah, yes. We have another guest tonight. Ranma's mother is here!"

"I heard," Ukyo said. "I'd like to talk to her."

They headed into the living room and introduced herself. "Mrs. Saotome? I'm Ranma's fiancee, Ukyo Kuonji. This is a friend of mine..."

"You can just call me Setsuna."

"Fiancee? I thought one of these girls was his fiancee," Nodoka said.

"Well, that was your husband's doing. He sort of got Ranchan a lot of fiancees ..."

"A lot? Oh, yes! My son is so manly!" Nodoka seemed to be relieved. "You must know my son well. Tell me... in your eyes, is he manly?"

"Oh, of course! Very manly!"

"Well-groomed? Polite?"

"Uh... sure!"

"No more so than your own husband," Setsuna said. "He was the one who raised Ranma, after all."

"I see. What about his hobbies? What does he like to do?"

"Other than martial arts?" Akane asked.

"Well... there is his cross-dressing," Nabiki put in.

Sudden worry again. "Cross-dressing? That's not very manly..."

Setsuna shot her a death-glare. Then her face brightened again. "She likes to tease," she told Mrs. Saotome.

"Well, you're a known cross-dresser yourself, Kuonji-sanm" Nabiki countered. "It's no surprise with Ranma engaged to someone like you..."

"Back off," Ukyo said. "Or are you going to challenge me?"

"Why doesn't Ranma show up himself? He's got to be at your place." She looked intently at Ranma-chan.

"He is?" Nodoka said. "Shacking up? Well, that's manly..."

Ranma-chan sensed she needed to take control of the situation. "Look, he has a few problems right now. Sort of a phase he's going through... you're not ready for each other yet. He's told us about the contract you made with his father... but you can't pass judgement on him just now. It's too early." Her expression softened. "I know how hard this must be for you. It's hard on him too. But you've waited so long. Just a few more weeks and you can see him face to face."

Nodoka nodded. "I understand. Well, you can tell him I will be staying here waiting for him." She turned to Ukyo with a gleam in her eye. "And I can recommend some good marital aids for you to try..."

Ukyo and Ranma-chan both sweatdropped.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Beryl was incensed. "Almost two dozen youma killed, and for what? We still do not have the guinzuishou! And the Senshis' numbers continue to grow! What do you have to say for yourself, Kunzite?"

Kunzite bowed his head. "Forgive me, my queen. I had assumed there might be more Senshi than we had seen, but there was no way of knowing they would be so powerful."

She turned to his rival. "It seems you were right, Magnetite. There were more Senshi to reveal. Do you also know which of them is able to sense our plans as we make them?"

"Not AS we make them, my queen," Magnetite said, taking a deep breath. Time to lay his cards on the table. "BEFORE we make them. A precognitive."

He projected an image of recent battles, showing several members of the team together. The image focused on the one with the staff. "That one. She has not announced herself as the others do, but I have done some research, and found she is known as Sailor Pluto."

"Fascinating," Beryl said. "And how do you propose to fight such an opponent?"

"She has her weaknesses," Magnetite said. "She has other enemies than us. I have acquired the services of two of them. One has reported she is afraid of cats. So much so she cannot see events where they are present." He shifted the image to Happosai. "Another is this human. His abilities, in some way, are on a par with her power level. She cannot predict him. And he is welcomed in the home where she stays."

"Then you can attack her directly? And the other Senshi as well?"

"Better. Why fight on their ground when we are so much stronger on our own? I will force them to come here, where they cannot survive."

Beryl understood what he meant. "Excellent. You may proceed. This time, we will have the guinzuishou, and the Sailor Senshi's deaths!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Akane was a bit surprised to see Ranma at school. She walked straight up to him. "You ARE coming home with me today," she insisted. "You HAVE to let her meet you as a man."

"I want to," he said. "I think I can do it, if we keep cold water away from me. But things weren't as clear as I'd like last night."

"There's a chance Happosai may show up," Ukyo said.

"Where has he been?" Akane asked. "He's been away for a while, hasn't he?"

"He might be with the Dark Kingdom," Ranma said. "Even if he isn't, he won't care about my mom."

"Well, I'm sure you can dodge any spills. You have to be brave, Ranma. This is your mother."

"I shouldn't have to be brave for my MOTHER!" he shot back. "Damn Pop. Had to go make that contract..."

"Well, we can keep Happosai under control," Akane said. "Don't worry! I'm sure everything will run smoothly!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Around midday Nodoka was surprised by an uninvited guest around midday. Kasumi saw him land on the edge of the koi pond. "Oh! Grandfather Happosai! Welcome home! How was your trip?"

"Happosai!" Nodoka immediately headed for the living room. He was indeed there, in the yard, her husband's tyrannical mentor. "You! Because of you I have hardly seen my husband! Have you taken him back now?"

"Why, Nodoka, my dear! Fancy seeing you here. This is an unexpected bonus. Tell me... have you seen your son today?"

"Ranma is away for a while," Soun said, suspecting he was actually at school at this hour but knowing he should cover for the boy until he chose to show himself.

"Then... you haven't seen him either?" Nodoka asked.

"Well, I was training him... but the boy is hopeless. He wants to be too well-behaved. Maybe it's his being a-"

Soun immediately charged Happosai, intending to keep him dunked in the pond until drowned. Happosai simply leaped aside as the Tendo patriarch splashed into the pond.

"What's gotten into you? Finally getting some backbone?" He looked around. "What about your husband? Where has my Genma gone?"

"RIGHT HERE!" Genma's shout came from behind, his leap also aiming to hit Happosai. He had more luck than Soun, and both went into the pond. Much wrestling ensued.

Nodoka sighed. "It looks like they are back to their old tricks," she said.

The men of the house held up for a few minutes against their old master. In the end, the three of them broke apart, facing each other off in combat stances, as if taking a breather before renewing their struggle. "Something's gotten into you two," Happosai mused. "You aren't usually this aggressive. You must be hiding something."

"Oh, we're just glad to see you, master!" Genma said. "Let's show our appreciation again!"

They chased Happosai around the yard for a few more minutes, this time not able to lay hands on him. When they took another breather, Happosai made a gesture to the sky. "Well, a fine reception I get from my vacation!" he said. "I met some very nice people. I've even brought a few with me! Ladies! Come on down!"

Several women in skimpy outfits dropped from seemingly nowhere, landing around the yard and even in the house. Kasumi wondered about them. "Grandfather Happosai - were you in Hawaii or somewhere?"

"Oh, much better than that!" he said. "You should come and see for yourself! I've arranged an all-expenses-paid trip! Ladies, let's show them your home..."

The women all smiled, advancing on everyone in the home with outstretched arms.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Where's Nabiki?" Akane wondered. "She wanted to be with us when we went home today."

"To keep an eye on Ranchan for herself?" Ukyo asked. "I think Kuno mentioned something about her being taken out of class by some counsellor or something. She hasn't been seen since then."

"Oh. Well, we should see her at home then." She grabbed Ranma's arm. "Come on, buster."

"Hey!" Ukyo objected. "Since when do you act like his girlfriend?"

"I AM NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Akane yelled. "I just don't want to see him run off again."

"Oh, I ain't running off," Ranma said. "I want to see this through myself."

Things remained tense between Akane and Ukyo as they escorted Ranma home. Ranma, unusually, made no attempt to break for it. He seemed completely stoic, ready to face whatever came.

"Tadaima! Mrs. Saotome? Ranma's here!" She looked around the house. No one in the kitchen, living room, laundry, bathroom, upstairs...

"Maybe they went shopping," Ukyo suggested after they had searched the whole house.

"But Dad usually wouldn't go with them," Akane said. "And they didn't even leave a note..."

"Something doesn't feel right..." Ranma said uneasily. "Like someone was here. Someone evil..."

"Happosai?" Ukyo asked. "Could he have come back already?"

The TV suddenly turned on of its own accord. They were all startled. "Wha-? Ranchan, did you do that?" But Ranma shook his head.

The picture brightened, showing a man with dark hair and eyes in Dark Kingdom officer's uniform. "Ah, you are home at last, allies of the Sailor Senshi."

They were suddenly on their guard. "The Dark Kingdom!"

The man gave a low laugh. "Yes. My name is Magnetite, in case your friend Sailor Pluto hasn't told you. I would suggest you call your Senshi friends and tell them we have some new guests."

"You MONSTERS!" Ranma shouted. "Leave them out of this! They have nothing to do with the Senshi!"

"There are no innocents or civilians in our fight," Magnetite said. "This is total war. All of you humans will have to join us or die. Your friends and family who lived here will get the opportunity a little sooner than most people." The screen showed an image of Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki, Genma, and Nodoka in some sort of beds with dark energies washing over them.

"Fight me!" Ranma said. "I challenge you! Tell me where to meet you and I'll fight you for them!"

"Oh, your challenge is accepted. As to where to go... I do suggest you ask Sailor Pluto. She should have all the answers. She knows where all this will end." The TV suddenly turned off.

Ranma made a fist, battle aura rising. "Damn him... it must have been Happosai! He must have led them here!"

"What are we going to do, Ranma? The bad guys have got them! We have to get them back!" Akane was frantic. Her family was at risk. No martial arts opponent would be so cowardly to use someone's family to get to her or Ranma. This was a level of ruthlessness she had never encountered before.

"What can we do?" Ranma said. "We have to get everyone together and go after them!"

"But he mentioned Sailor Pluto!" Ukyo said. "He said she would know where this would all lead! He must know about your power! He'll be prepared!"

Ranma was suddenly subdued. "That's right..." He pondered the situation for a few moments. "No! We have no time anymore! We have to finish this now!" He looked to both of them. "This will have to be the final showdown. There's no time for fear or doubts. It doesn't matter if they know we're coming. We're going to beat them no matter what!"

A dark look came over him. "Beat them... or die trying."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: Next one may take even longer to finish. There's a great potential that Kunzite's 'Dimension of Random Time' attack can be used for sending the Senshi to various anime worlds for up to a few months on end. This would backfire horribly on him, of course. Usagi showing up with her Eternal power-up... or Lina Inverse coming back with them, using a Dragon Slave to clean up the youma armies... so many possibilities...


	24. Invasion

Chapter 24: Invasion

Foreword: Yes, it's back. Going to try to push through to the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Kidnapped!" There was horror in Usagi's voice. "They got everyone?"

"Most of them," Ranma said. "Akane and Ukyo are with me."

"Will they be coming for us?" Now she sounded frantic over the phone. Ranma could imagine her looking around as if youma might jump out of the walls. Which, for all he knew, they could.

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet. But we don't have a moment to lose. We have to meet right away. Our usual places aren't safe - we'll have to meet at a park..." He gave them an address, then hung up without waiting for acknowledgement.

Next he dialed the Nekohanten and quickly explained the situation. "Are you guys safe? Any strange people coming around?"

"No more so than usual," Cologne said. "But I take it we should move quickly."

"I think this will be it. We have to go, ready or not." He gave them the same address as he gave Usagi and hung up.

"Let's go," Akane said, making for the door.

"One second," Ranma said, and hit the kitchen for a glass of cold water. Seconds later, Ranma-chan met them at the door. "Gotta see if there are any more surprises coming our way."

They were just leaving the residential streets when they ran into a familiar face. Ryoga turned the corner, apparently in a hurry, and quickly hid behind it from something or someone coming the other way. He darted his head out to check the street, then looked behind himself. He seemed a bit startled, then delighted, to see Ranma and his companions coming.

"Ranma! You've got to help me! She's after me again!"

Ukyo drew her spatula. "Is it a youma?" She and Akane came up behind him, ready to ambush whatever was after him.

They did not have to wait long; a feminine figure soon came up the walkway, with Ryoga ducking further out of sight. Ukyo swung her spatula as the figure came around the corner, knocking the victim senseless. Ukyo then looked at who it was.

"Kodachi...? Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought you were a youma..." She tried to help the younger Kuno up, checking to see if she had a concussion.

"A youma? Were you heading for a battle?" Ryoga asked.

"Our families have been kidnapped," Akane said. "Happosai joined up with the Dark Kingdom and told them everything about us."

"Kindapped?" Ryoga sounded disgusted. "Those cowards! Let me come with you! They should PAY!"

"Be my guest," Ranma said, and she and Akane resumed their march to the meeting spot.

"What about Kodachi?" Ukyo asked. "Will she be okay?"

Ryoga looked a little uneasy. "Definitely. I'd just as soon leave her behind..."

Ranma-chan cocked her head for a second, as if looking over the dazed gymnast to check her health. "Yeah. She's just dazed. We can't wait. Let's get moving."

"Wait, Ranma," Ryoga said, standing in their way. "I came here to see you. I just want to know one thing: Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you help me? Why did you cure my misdirection?"

"You needed it."

"Dammit, Ranma!" Anger flared in his eyes. "Don't you understand how these things work? Don't you know we're enemies!"

Ranma blinked, then chuckled. She started walking again, and motioned Ryoga to follow along. "Enemies? Geez, you sound like I did something really horrible. Like I stole something from you."

"You did! All that bread in middle school!"

"That was open competition," Ranma reminded him. "I won fair and square. Not my fault you weren't stronger. I'd guess nowadays no one could stop you from winning."

"No one but you," Ryoga said. "You were the only one who could beat me then, either. Soon I'll be stronger, and then I'll finally beat you."

"Geez! Lighten up, you guys," Ukyo said. "Anyway, you should know Ranma well enough by now, Ryoga. You shouldn't take those old fights so seriously. It was nothing personal. It's just the way his father raised him. He treats everyone that way."

"I never saw you as an ENEMY, exactly," Ranma said. "More like a pest."

This earned a glare from Ryoga. "I'll make myself more than a pest..."

"Well, if you want to be a real enemy, you got some ways to go. The Dark Kingdom ... they're the real deal. You ought to focus on them."

"Oh, I will. I'll call a truce between us for now and fight with you. But I'm still looking toward our final match. Don't get killed before then."

"Deal," Ranma-chan said. *If I can keep it...*

Back down the street, unnoticed by the group, Kodachi Kuno opened her eyes and smiled. So, the Tendo family had been kidnapped? And Akane was resolved to rescue them? Her brother would be most interested in this.

She trusted he would hear of it on his own soon enough, and come running to offer his services. As for herself and her Ryoga-sama... she got up and began to follow at a discreet distance.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite watched his security monitor, seeing his targets leave the view of his camera. The phone tap he had left indicated they were heading not toward Furinkan or the Nekohanten, or even the Hikawa shrine, all p;aces he would have expected. It seemed they were a bit smarter than that, at least nowadays. They were heading to a park where he had no surveillance set up. He would not be privy to their gathering or planning.

Not that it mattered. He still had plenty of cameras covering the blocks around the portal. He was quite sure Sailor Pluto would see where it was, and the Senshi would move on it in force. Time to report to Queen Beryl on his progress.

He teleported into the audience chamber and knelt in submission. "It is done, my queen. The Senshi are taking the bait. They should be making their move before the end of the night."

"You are sure of this? They would be fools to attack so rashly."

"Humans are quite predictable, my queen. Take what they value and they will lose all sense of reason in their drive to recover it. They will not want to lose time with elaborate preparations. Their haste will be their downfall."

"Excellent." Beryl turned to her other surviving general. "Kunzite, your forces are ready to stop them?"

Kunzite bowed. "All are in position now, my queen. The Senshi will not make it out of the tunnel, whatever their strength."

"I hope you have sufficient reserves on the plains beyond," Magnetite said. "I would not put it past them to clear their way through, especially if they were to show more powers than we have seen."

"We can speculate all we like on what powers they may or may not have," Kunzite said, "but our own arsenal is comprehensive. Whatever they can do, we can counter it. And their mastermind, Sailor Pluto, has a known weakness we are now ready to exploit. I'm afraid your own forces will have no opportunity for glory for themselves."

"Do not bicker!" Beryl warned. "It would not do for us to fall apart in our hour of triumph. I do not care how it is done, I want you to bring me their heads! Do not fail me, either of you!"

Kunzite bowed again. "I will be inspecting my troops. I hope to give the Senshi a proper welcome." He faded from sight.

"I will be continuing my own preparations," Magnetite said. "Should Kunzite fail, I have means at my disposal that will surely succeed." He too teleported away.

Beryl cackled gleefully. "Soon... soon the guinzuishou will be ours, and Queen Metallia will be revived! HAHAHAHAHA!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi were somber as Ranma and Akane confirmed the story of the Tendos' and Saotomes' abduction. Sailor Moon was particularly sympathetic. "Your own mom and dad! It's so tragic! Just when you got to see her again, and now this!" She began to cry openly.

"That is tough," Jupiter said. "I almost feel lucky now I don't have a family to kidnap. But all of you guys..."

"Do you think they'll come after us next?" Venus sounded very worried. "Are our families safe?"

"I'm not sure they know about you guys," Pluto said. "But Happosai would definitely have told them about us in Nerima."

"They not come for us!" Shampoo said, speaking of herself and Cologne. "They afraid fight us!"

"I am sure they could have come with enough force to overwhelm us if they wished," Cologne countered. "They may yet do so if we are slow to respond. They are goading us into action. I know it may be hard for you to do this, but I would not recommend taking their bait. We should move around, perhaps stay out of Tokyo for a while, but otherwise continue to bide our time and gain power, and hope the captives are unharmed."

"You can wait here if you like," Akane said sharply. "I'm going no matter what."

"She shall not have to go alone," a new voice now spoke. Everyone turned to see the two Kunos now entering the park where they were meeting. Tatewaki was carrying the now-discharged Wishbringer sword, while Kodachi was in leotard and ribbon, with a pack full of other equipment for good measure. "Whatever travails she faces, she may count on the sword of Tatewaki Kuno to aid her."

"And where my Ryoga-sama goes, so go I," Kodachi added.

"And just how did you know I was in trouble...?" Akane asked.

"Surely you know. For my heart is ever attuned to you, such that any calamity that may befall you I shall feel your distress." Tatewaki took advantage of the opportunity to wax poetic. "That, and your sister was called out of class early and did not return by lunch. It seemed prudent to investigate."

"Figures you'd want to jump in on this," Ukyo said. She got close to Akane, her voice sinking to a whisper. "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll buy it."

"Well, I can't really refuse your help under the circumstances," Pluto said. "And you have the Wishbringer with you. I take it you remember what I said about it."

"Indeed. The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High stands ready to wade through an army of demons to rescue his true love's family!" His eyes showed he was envisioning earning great credit as a suitor with her father. "I shall even overlook our quarrel for the time being, Saotome. Just point me toward the enemy and I shall make them rue the day!"

"Well... you know these guys are a world-wide problem," Pluto reminded him. "Their generals can teleport short-range. For getting around the world, they use portals." She moved to their Tokyo area map, which Cologne had brought and laid out on the grass, and pointed to a location. "Their Tokyo portal is going to be fixed in the back of a restaurant there for the next few days. They're not trying to hide it."

Tatewaki smiled. "I assume they are expecting us, and have this portal well defended."

"An army on the other side, yeah."

"And it leads to some nether realm beyond mortal ken?"

"Actually, no. The other side is... well... pretty remote, but technically still on Earth."

"If it is still on Earth, then it is a small matter to any military mind. If a bridge cannot be forced, one must find the means to cross the river elsewhere."

"More like an ocean than a river..."

"Much the same. Where, exactly, is this enemy stronghold? I should pursue them to the ends of the Earth if necessary!"

"Well, basically... the North Pole."

"Truly?" Tatewaki asked. "This is no time for jest, Saotome."

Akane noticed the faces of the Senshi and Amazons. She looked to Ukyo, who also was stonefaced. "Seriously?" she asked. "They're at the NORTH POLE!"

"'Fraid so," Ukyo nodded.

"Ranma checked it out months ago," Jupiter said. "We've been planning this for a while."

"A while. And I guess your plans were to sneak through this portal."

"Well, actually... no," Pluto said. "We had our own way..."

"Your own way? Let me guess. You're Sailors. You have a ship."

Pluto looked quizzically at Akane, then at the other Senshi. "Ya know... that would make sense. We SHOULD have a ship."

"So you DON'T have one? Great! So how were you going to get to the NORTH FREAKING POLE!"

"If they have not one of their own, Akane," Tatewaki said, "the Kuno family will supply one. Our own family yacht will easily get us to Alaska in a week, and we can charter dogsleds from there." He gave Ranma a smug look. "No doubt you would have had to come begging to me in any event."

"To you? Heh. Not a chance."

Akane's face was filled with dismay. "A week! Do you realize what could happen to them in a week? There has to be some faster way to get there."

"Well, if you must be there overnight, we can take the Kuno family jet..."

"That would likely be a crash landing, if we even get that far," Kodachi pointed out. "A Learjet is not exactly made for such harsh conditions, and there are no landing strips at the North Pole."

"Some sacrifices must be made!" Tatewaki insisted. "Some risks must be taken! It is ever the way of the warrior. I would not fault you, dear sister, if you chose to remain behind." He glared at her with a grin, which she returned, refusing to back down and allow him to go forth unbothered.

"Ahem," Cologne now cleared her throat. "Our plans called for something a little safer, though more... specific to the Senshi."

"Specific? How do you mean?"

"We were going to teleport," Ranma said.

"You can do that?" Akane was amazed. "Like the generals do? When did you learn this?"

Now Luna spoke up. "They can't do it as freely as the generals do, but if they combine all their powers, they can travel anywhere in the world. And surely beyond, as their powers grow."

The Kunos now looked askance at the cat. "Another Jusenkyo curse?" Tatewaki asked Ranma.

"No. I... don't really know what they are."

"Hmm... no matter. Very well, then, if you can teleport, we shall cut off the head of the serpent. Take us to their king." He moved to take Pluto by the waist, but she dodged out of the way.

"Ummm... that's we, as in us Senshi," Moon said. "You martial-arts type guys stay here."

"We can barely do it ourselves," Mercury said. "Taking passengers is just impossible right now. We weren't even going to practice this move for a while..."

"I was going to try to distract their youma at the portal," Tuxedo Mask said. "We can help keep pressure off that way."

"Well, there's more of us now," Akane said. "So we'll just go in that way."

"A two-pronged assault!" Kuno was sounding less than enthusiastic. "But I cannot be a mere diversion! I shall lead our forces through all the enemy's ranks to the very gates of Hell!"

Pluto sighed, rubbing her temple. "Yeah, just don't take on too much at once. We'll have to meet you guys at the tunnel exit."

Shampoo went up to Akane and handed her a Chinese sword. "No kill youma, but can make them hurt," she said, taking her own maces to hand. "Is better than fist."

Ukyo hefted her spatula. "Let's have fun storming the castle!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mousse extended his claws, then retracted them again. He looked to Kunzite and tried to smile with a face now less expressive than usual. "Yeeeeesss... this ought to work great," he said. "Saotome will never knew what hit him."

Kunzite admired his handiwork. His dear departed Zoicite's work on converting humans to youma was not in vain: now Mousse had been imbued with dark power, transforming him - at his request - into a more feline being, walking on two legs but with a tiger's head and paws. He seemed certain Sailor Pluto would be unable to fight him in this form.

"You know to target Sailor Pluto first," he said. "After that try to get Sailor Moon apart from the others. When you first see her she may be a decoy - wait until she throws her tiara or uses her wand. Take her alive - the Queen has something special planned for her. Kill the rest."

"If Shampoo is with them, she's mine," Mousse insisted.

Kunzite regarded him coolly. "Very well. Just be sure to bring me Sailor Moon." He looked to the other youma assembled here in the tunnel, also catlike in form. "Follow his orders. He knows the enemy better than any of us."

The senior youma looked in disgust at the human usurping her duties. "As you command, my lord."

"Stand ready," Kunzite said, and withdrew to the mouth of the tunnel. The Sailor Senshi would have to come this way to get to their loved ones, and if Mousse's claim of Sailor Pluto's weakness was accurate, their most effective member should be neutralized.

As to Mousse and his demands... Kunzite considered allowing it. Possibly. It wouldn't impact the Dark Kingdom's campaign to allow him his prize. On the other hand, once he got a taste of the world under the Dark Kingdom, he might well react as other humans would, and become an enemy. So it would be all the better if he did not happen to survive this little encounter...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is the spot," Artemis said. He and Luna had checked the address out during the day, making sure the portal was still there, as Ranma had predicted. It was now past midnight, and all the shops along the street were shuttered. Of the Neriman martial artists present, all were in their usual combat gear save Shampoo, who was dressed up as Sailor Moon.

Tuxedo Mask produced a rose, which he used to pick the lock on the shutters, then on the door. Within the dining room beyond were several human-looking workers cleaning up and closing down for the night. They all stopped their work to look at the newcomers, apparently breaking and entering into their store. "I'm sorry, we're closing down-" the floor manager began.

"Surrender, and we shall spare your lives!" Tatewaki Kuno said.

"These may be civilians," Tuxedo Mask cautioned. "They might not know of the Dark Kingdom's presence here."

Akane gestured to an unnatural-looking patch of darkness against the back wall. "Doesn't that look a little strange to you...?"

Kodachi did not waste time. She spun her ribbon, unleashing a flurry of black rose petals, then threw packets of powder into the mix, creating a toxic cloud. The workers began to cough, but quickly recovered as the twirling ribbon stopped and the cloud dispersed.

"They're not human," Kodachi pronounced confidently. "That concentration of knockout gas should have dropped a herd of elephants."

The manager grimaced, knowing the game was up. She and the other workers began changing into less-human looking forms. "Sailor Moon! You won't escape us this time!"

The group did not give them time to finish their transformations. Tatewaki led the way. "ONE HUNDRED BLOWS!" Suddenly his sword became a blur, chi projected along the edge and flying outward in arcs that cut through walls and tables... and youma bodies. Heads and arms began flying around gorelessly.

Akane paused to watch one youma body fumbling around for its lost head. "It's like a zombie movie!"

"Then you know what you have to do!" Ukyo yelled. "Dice them up!"

As the Hundred Blows attack paused, an intact youma threw several small blades at Tatewaki, hoping to prevent him from doing it again. Shampoo and Ukyo interposed themselves, catching the blades out of midair and throwing them back at the attacker. She began to dissolve in a cloud of sparks, slain by her own weapons.

"Woah," Ukyo said, impressed. "They're vulnerable to their own missiles! This just got a whole lot easier!"

Tatewaki took the time to swing in great arcs through the dismembered youma around the dining room. The Wishbringer's wishes were long used, but the sword retained a basic magical charge that allowed the elder Kuno to disrupt the binding dark energy that gave live to the youma. The air was soon filled with dust, leaving the restaurant empty of bodies.

Kodachi twirled her ribbon again to generate a wind to clear the air. "So much for their front line."

"Now... Into the breach!" Her brother leapt straight into the black patch and disappeared.

"The others should be making their move around now," Luna said. "I just hope they do as well as this..."

She joined the others in jumping into the portal.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Venus looked at her watch. "It's time."

"I'm psyched." Jupiter cracked her knuckles.

"The time has come at last," Mercury said somberly.

"I was born ready," Pluto said.

"Too late to back out now, anyway," Uranus observed.

"Rei-chan..." Sailor Moon came up to Mars and whispered conspiratorially. "Have you kissed Yuuchiro yet?"

This brought sweatdrops all around. "What made you think of that?" Mars asked.

"Well, if you die, you'd regret -"

"I AM NOT GONNA DIE!" Mars exploded, looming over Moon, sending her flying onto her backside.

"You're so mean! I was just worried about you!"

"Hmph! That's a laugh!"

"No one is gonna die," Pluto said tiredly. "Not if we do this like we planned."

She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. She had gotten good readings of this battle, and a good idea of the layout of the Dark Kingdom's subterranean warrens, before Happosai had gone over. Now, all was darkness; and not just the sort of uncertainty Happosai brought. It was more like that early battle against the time-manipulating youma. No doubt there were more where she came from, and now that they knew about her and her powers, they were being used to their fullest.

They had moved back to the Hikawa Shrine for the jump, and were gathered in the tiled courtyard in front of Rei's quarters. They now joined hands in a great circle and summoned their powers, fixing their destination in mind.

They all called it together. "SAILOR TELEPORT!"

The wintry chill and dimly lit night of Tokyo disappeared. They felt briefly numb, as if their bodies weren't even there, then feeling returned, similar to before but much more intense: the Arctic cold and unlit darkness of the North Pole.

Sailor Moon shivvered. Sailor fukus were hardly made for this environment. "It's C-C-C-COLD! How can you guys stand it?"

"Pipe down!" Mars chided. "Keep your mind focused and you won't feel it!"

"Our powers can keep the cold at bay," Uranus said. "Focus on channeling it to keep warm."

"We might be able to survive in space," Neptune speculated. "This cold should be nothing to us."

They could see nothing through the darkness and blowing snow. Mercury summoned her visor and linked with her computer, doing a scan of the area. "We're in a gap in their formation," she said. "They'll sense us in a few seconds!"

"No time to waste, then," Pluto said. "Where's the nearest group?"

"That way!" Mercury pointed the way.

"Let's start cleaning this place up. DEAD SCREAM!"

The firing commenced in earnest.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite was just inside the mouth of the tunnel leading to the Tokyo gate, keeping an eye on the false Sailor Moon and her unpowered allies, noting their progress. The forward youma were weak, meant only to absorb the initial attacks and allow Kunzite to get some basic information on their enemies - how many Senshi there were, how many allies, what powers they had. Based on what he saw, he would be able to choose which youma teams to send forward as they advanced on his position.

Right now, there seemed to be only allies attacking; the Senshi themselves had yet to show. *They are coming in waves. Smart, but not surprising... they will need more to survive this day.* One of the martial artists attacking drew his eye: it was the powerhouse that had killed his Zoicite!

*So, he survived my attack. Tougher than I thought. But he isn't showing nearly as much power as he did then. Has he actually gotten weaker? Or is he merely holding back?* No matter. This time he would leave the boy dismembered. Let him come back from THAT.

He moved on to the others, checking their abilities. *That sword the one boy has ... it has power! Where would he have found such a weapon? Some Moon Kingdom artifact that didn't fall into our hands? Perhaps Magnetite should have gone searching for things like that. One more shortcoming to chide him for...* But he would not worry about his rival's fortunes now; in defeating the Sailor Senshi here, he would assure his ascendancy over all others in Beryl's and Metallia's eyes.

He projected his thoughts to one of Mousse's team, a youma designated to recieve communications from him. *They are about to reach your position. The Sailor Moon with them has not used any powers; she is the decoy. Make sure she dies.*

*As you command, my lord,* the youma thought back.

Kunzite chuckled. That would be one less bit of confusion on this battlefield. But he was quickly distracted by a flare of power on the snowswept plains behind him.

*A teleport!* He extended his senses over the plain, finding the Senshi amid the blizzard. As he watched in horror, they began unleashing their powers against youma teams on the plain, moving unerringly from one to another, systematically clearing the area.

Kunzite smiled briefly in admiration. An excellent use of tactical surprise. But it could have been better: they could have gone straight to Beryl or Metallia. Out here, they gave him time to react properly.

He began a chant, spreading his hands to unleash dark power, seizing control of the weather. Within seconds the winds had calmed, the clouds thinned; the night was now clear and bright, allowing the youma teams remaining to see the Senshi wreaking havoc in their midst. He sent a broadcast to the teams: *The Senshi are among you! Kill them!*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"WORLD SHAKING!" A ball of golden energy sailed out of sight over a rise. Uranus concentrated, adjusting the path of her projectile slightly as Mercury had indicated. Seconds later, Mercury reported four youma dead at a range of over half a mile.

"Next group should be over there..." She began pointing out a direction. Then her directions were suddenly less necessary: the snows stopped and the clouds thinned, allowing moonlight through while being just enough to diffuse and reflect it, providing maximal night lighting.

"Looks like we've worn out our welcome," Pluto said, surveying the landscape.

There was a large ice cliff to one side, some hundreds of yards away. Dark clouds or smoke seemed to be rising above it. "Is that the Pole itself?" Sailor Moon asked. "Cool! It figures there'd be a big mountain here!"

"There shouldn't be," Neptune pointed out. "There's no land here. We're floating on the Arctic Ocean..."

Mercury hit a few buttons on her computer. "It is on the location of the pole. It's a crater. The other side goes all the way down to the sea floor... there's tunnels down there..."

"I know," Pluto said. "I think it's pretty recent. The Dark Kingdom must have made it all."

"You said you knew your way around in there?" Mars asked.

"Some parts. The places we'd want to go. Although I was kinda counting on catching them unawares..."

"Too late for that," Uranus said, beginning to walk toward the cliff. "Let's go."

"The tunnel to the Tokyo gate is back that way," Mercury said, pointing in the other direction.

"The main enemy is THIS way," Uranus said, jerking her thumb toward the cliffs.

"We have to link up with the others!" Mars said.

"They won't be any help."

This got all the Inners angry. "I'm not leaving anyone behind," Sailor Moon said. "WE'RE going back for them."

"You go back if you want," Uranus said. "We can deal with Beryl. Right, Pluto?"

To her surprise, Pluto turned and started walking toward the Tokyo tunnel. "Have fun finding your way around down there."

Uranus looked at Pluto in shock. "You'd go with THEM! but your own family's this way!"

"And they'll survive for an extra hour or so. The guys back this way are my friends, too... and they won't do so well without our help."

"This is the best way to win!" Neptune pleaded. "You know it!"

She turned to give her fellow Outers an unsympathetic look. "This is my plan, guys. I'm sticking to it." And with that, she led the Inners away.

A minute later she looked back to see the Outers looking unhappy but following along. No doubt they would have some choice words later. *Well, let them be angry,* Pluto thought. *After this is all done, I won't have to deal with them anymore.*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Mousse looked at the scene around him in fascination. The tunnel walls and the youma of his team were all in focus. Kunzite had not only given him the body of a cat, he had given him the eyes of one... eyes that could see properly. *The Dark Kingdom does take care of its own,* he thought.

His appreciation of Kunzite's generosity was cut short by his communication youma. *Mousse! New orders from Kunzite! The Sailor Senshi are this way!" She pointed to the far end of the tunnel, opposite the oncoming Neriman attackers.

"What? Why wold they be there? They have to be coming from the portal this way!" He turned back to the martial artists advancing up the tunnel. They were not yet in sight, but his Shampoo could be among them. Should he make his move...?

"Where is Sailor Pluto?" he asked the communicator.

"All the Senshi are on the plain! Kunzite-sama has ordered us to go! NOW!" The team began heading down the tunnel, looking happy to leave him behind.

"Ranma..." If Saotome was truly with them, then they way to secure Shampoo was there. Shampoo herself would surely not fall to the likes of these youma still in the tunnel. And they were now on guard against any tricks such as he could use. He would get Shampoo after making sure Ranma was dead. She could have no cause for complaint when he dunked her in the Spring to receive her rightful prize.

Mousse hurried down the tunnel, eager to fight Saotome. This time, he vowed, only one of them would walk away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"HYAAA!" Tatewaki Kuno slashed his sword through the three youma before him, quickly reducing them to dust. The combatants remained on guard, but no further youma came to trouble them.

"They're gone..." Ukyo mused. "I don't like this. These youma seemed too weak somehow."

"Speak for yourself," Akane said, breaking out of the vines that bound her. Why did so many youma seem to prefer binding or throwing attacks? "These guys have given me plenty of trouble!"

"He's right, though," Tuxedo Mask said. "These ones we've fought so far have only had basic powers we've seen before. No new tricks."

"I think there were some a few yards ahead earlier," Ryoga said. "They're gone now. I think they moved back."

"Perhaps they have learned their lesson and fear to challenge us!" Kodachi said.

"Or they're massing for a larger attack," Ukyo suspected.

"Maybe Usako and the others have forced them to change their focus to them," Tuxedo Mask hoped.

"It matters not why," Tatewaki said. "The road lies open to us! Let us seize the day!"

"Not too fast," Tuxedo Mask said. "They could still have laid traps."

"I should expect no less," Tatewaki replied. "Let us test our mettle!" He gave his sword a mighty downward swing, projecting his chi along the edge, throwing a cutting wave of force down the tunnel. A trap in the ground several feet ahead erupted into a gooey substance, much like Ukyo's glue-batter.

Tuxedo Mask had somewhat more range. He threw dozens of summoned roses ahead, tripping more traps. Kodachi caught the idea and twirled her ribbon, sending her Black Rose attack forth to trip traps at farther range.

"We're clear," Tuxedo Mask said. "Let's go."

They made good time down the tunnel, until they say a humanoid figure silhouetted against a landscape of moonlit snow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi were finding things, if not more difficult than before, at least a bit more complicated.

Fog suddenly appeared around them. Mercury had clearly done nothing. "Looks like they're taking a page from us," she said. The Senshi all held back apprehensively.

Moments later the fog ahead of them cleared a little, revealing Genma Saotome. He seemed to be suspended above the ground by chains at his wrists, keeping his arms spread. His voice seemed clear enough, coming across at least a dozen yards: "Ranma... child... help us..."

Sailor Moon blinked in worry. She turned to Pluto. "That's your father, isn't it? We have to go to him!" She started to run forward.

Mercury held her back. "Wait! It might be a trap!"

"It'd be a typical kind of trap..." Jupiter said.

"But what if it isn't?" Moon asked.

"I'll check it out," Mercury said, activation her visor, but Pluto waved her off.

"No need," she chuckled. She looked toward her erstwhile father. "Nice try, but I don't think so. DEAD SCREAM!" The shot struck the figure, which screamed as it briefly turned into a youma with insectoid features before turning to dust. The fog cleared immediately.

Four other youma were now revealed. They immediately scattered. The Senshi struck out with their attacks, Neptune tagging one, Jupiter stunning another, allowing Moon's tiara to bisect it. The other two dove into the hard-packed snow.

"As if that's gonna help," Pluto said, scanning the ground at their feet. She indicated the area right before them. "Uranus?"

"World Shaking!" The attack broke the snow cover, revealing the hiding youma. Neptune's follow-up turned both to dust.

Pluto now inticated a muontain ahead of them. There was a short rise leading to a dark spot - a cave mouth. "There it is. Shall we?"

When they got within attack range of the cave mouth Uranus tried to power up an attack, clearly intending to launch it inside. Venus interrupted her, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing? The others could be in there! We don't want to hit them!"

Uranus did not look happy at the interruption. "How long do you want to wait for them?"

"Mars? Aim just in front of the mouth," Pluto said. "Let's see if some steam draws them."

"Right. FIRE SOUL!" Mars' attack melted the snow in front of the entrance, raising a cloud of steam. Within seconds a group of feline-looking youma erupted from it, trying to turn the tables on the Senshis' attempt at surprise. They were soon locked in melee.

One youma in particular charged Pluto, wearing a familiar silk tunic. It got in Pluto's face and roared. "SAOTOMEEEE!"

Pluto casually poked him in the chest with her staff, knocking him on his back. "Mousse? Is that you? I'd have to say your looks have improved."

Mousse recovered quickly, bounding up and getting close to Pluto again for another roar. "Phew!" Pluto raised a hand to block her face, waving away the stink. "The change hasn't done anything for your breath..."

Mousse looked at Ranma-chan, dumbfounded. "You're not afraid?"

"Why would I be afraid of YOU?" Now Pluto took the initiative, grabbing Mousse by the arm and heaving him off of his feet. She put her Senshi-enhanced strength to use, spinning the transformed Amazon boy around and throwing him far into the distance.

Pluto looked around at the others to find they had killed several of the other youma and were chasing four survivors away. "Let them go!" she said. "They know they have no advantage against us now. Let's meet up with the others!" She headed up to the mouth of the tunnel, the steam cloud now gone.

At the mouth of the tunnel, they found a handsome ash-blond man in general's uniform. "You would be Kunzite, I take it?" Pluto said.

Kunzite eyed the Senshi, his scowl turning to a small grin as he saw their formation. Sailor Moon was in back, behind all other Senshi. Perfect. He heard footsteps coming up behind him - their unpowered allies, nothing to bother with.

"Hold, fiend!" Tatewaki Kuno said. "Thou art trapped! Thy evil is at an end!"

Kunzite could not help but laugh. "Do you really think it so easy to corner me?" Suddenly he was behind the Senshi, facing them. "I think not."

Suddenly he was behind the Nerimans. They quickly turned to face him, still ready to attack - as if such as they could pose a threat to him. In truth now they were his shields - the Senshi could not use their magics without hitting their comrades. "You may have fought well against our youma, but you will find I am a different matter entirely. You have no hope against me."

"Give us your worst!" Ryoga said, ready to charge. The other Nerimans stood ready to support him.

Kunzite quickly gauged the situation. All lined up, vulnerable to a single large attack. Sailor Pluto was with them; if Magnetite was to be believed, she would be able to see his attack coming - but there was one attack even she would be unable to defend against. It was his ultimate attack, requiring the bulk of his power, but it offered the most certain chances of dealing with the Senshi once and for all.

Now confident of victory, he indulged in a laugh. "Sailor Senshi! I should welcome you to the Dark Kingdom - but I'm afraid you won't be staying long. You are soon to find yourselves very far away."

"We're not going anywhere!" Pluto said, matching Kunzite's bravado. "YOU'RE going DOWN!"

"HA! Impudent fools!" He focused his gaze on Pluto. "Sailor Pluto, is it? I understand you have some ability to see the future. But your ability will do you no good! I will banish you to the Dimension of Random Time!"

"Dimension of Random Time...?" Pluto muttered. That sounded like an attack in her element - much like that early youma she had fought which manipulated Time.

Kunzite quickly confirmed it. "You might end up in prehistoric Africa, when dinosaurs still lived. Or maybe in Europe during a violent war..."

"You'd send me to such a screwy place...?" Sailor Moon began to look worried. She looked expectantly to Sailor Pluto.

Pluto grinned. This would be exactly the wrong attack to use against her. "Give me your best shot!"

Kunzite began gathering dark power in his hands, making signs and motions to shape it. The Senshi began to charge their attacks, their allies began to rush him from the rear - all too predictable. He first unleashed a power blast, knocking the Senshi off their feet, then teleported behind them, putting all of his enemies on one side of him.

Sailor Pluto, of course, recovered her feet first, and reoriented on his new position. He didn't give her time to do anything: he quickly charged up dark power again and unleashed his banishing attack.

Pluto leapt out in front of Moon as the wave of dark energy hit, holding her staff parallel to the ground, extending her power to counter Kunzite's energy wave. She felt much the same temporal shifting as the earlier youma had done, but where those temporal flows were as streams, this was a tsunami. "Sailor Moon..." she said through clenched teeth. "It's powerful... have to hold it off..."

"Hold on!" Moon tried to be supportive. All the Senshi were pinned down by the attack, barely keeping their feet.

Pluto concentrated with all her might, summoning her power to counter Kunzite. Within seconds it was clear it was a direct battle of strength - a battle she could not win. The Dark Kingdom general's magic reserves were at full - hers, all of the Senshi's, were not as great to begin with, and partially expended by their battles. It was only a matter of time before she lost her grip on the present and they were swept away.

The original Lady Pluto might have held out for as long as she could, perhaps, sacrificing herself to hold Kunzite while the other Senshi got out of the way of the attack. Ranma Saotome had been trained differently. She began looking for a different way out, tugging this way and that at the temporal forces assailing them. She soon had an idea. "Hang on! This is gonna get rough!"

"What's happening!" Mars shouted. This did not sound good at all to her.

Pluto began twirling her staff in what appeared to be a standard staff kata. The wave of force began to feel different, shifting this way and that, rotating along the axis from them to Kunzite. They all yelled as they were swept off their feet into darkness.

Kunzite was astonished that Pluto could warp his attack. He wasn't sure what the new pattern of energies was at first glance, but with his opportunity at hand he had to risk taking it. He leapt toward Sailor Moon, reaching out for the wand she held closely.

He hadn't quite made it when the darkness reached out and swallowed him along with the helpless Senshi.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite was just finishing another round of the attunement chant when he felt it. A moment of vertigo, nausea, a wave of panic, then a wash of energies that bloomed into a sharp pain, first in his head and then throughout his body. It was mercifully brief, the energies dissipating within seconds, leaving a fuzzy, muffled feeling.

He steadied himself by force of will, avoiding faltering, finishing the chant, then turning to one of his workbenches, checking some of the resonant crystal apparatus there. It was immediately clear that something had gone wrong. There were indications of a chaos of magical energies everywhere; he could make out traces of spatial distortions, resonances at all the portals set up in their caverns and about the plains. Then he remembered Beryl, monitoring the battle through her crystal ball - she would be much more affected than he.

He was somewhat drained from his attunement chanting; he walked to the audience chanber rather than teleporting. The crowd of youma was thinner than usual, many of their number having joined the battle. He quickly made his way before the throne.

Beryl indeed did not look well. "Queen Beryl-sama - are you all right? I felt an energy wave..."

"Kunzite..." she managed in a ragged voice. "He tried his ultimate attack. The Dimension of Random Time..."

Magnetite's blood ran cold. "Sailor Pluto...? Was she with the Senshi?"

"That witch!" Beryl hissed. "It was her! She did something with that staff of hers - reshaped the energies of the attack..." She extended a hand toward her crystal ball, trying to summon an image, but got only static. "Everything is scrambled around here. I need to know what is happening! Find out where they are!"

"At once, my Queen," Magnetite said, turning to leave. He gestured toward the youma. "Come! We must search the area! Check with all portals! Scour the tunnels! Find them!"

He headed out of the audience chamber, thinking furiously. At best, Kunzite's attack could have worked, and they would not have the Senshi to worry about any more. At worst... they could be down here in these very tunnels right now.

Magnetite picked up his pace, hurrying back to his lab. If the Senshi were down here, he could manage the youma to deal with them. But he had to make sure the Time Key Staff was secure. The last thing he wanted was for Sailor Pluto to get her hands on it - it would still work better for her than for him.

If he could keep it in his hands, it would be necessary when he faced her. He would need the advantage it would provide in fighting in her own element. Then he would be able to deprive the Senshi of their greatest asset. With her gone, and the staff in his control, the others could not stand against him. It would be easy to get the guinzuishou from Sailor Moon's hands. The battle would be won at last.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

From Arctic cold, she was now in a blazing furnace. From the dark of a months-long polar winter, she was staring into the sun. She screamed in pain, desperately shut her eyes, brought up an arm to shield them, and writhed in pain on dusty ground.

Sailor Jupiter had the distinct impression she had fallen into Hell.

Gradually the pain subsided; she began to realize her flesh wasn't actually being consumed. She stopped screaming and writhing. She sat still for several minutes, waiting to be sure she was all right. When her sensations stabilized, she was still very hot and sticky. She gingerly moved her arm away from her eyes, getting used to the light.

When she was able to look around, she found she was on a dirt road in the middle of an urban area. There were people starting to converge on the area, African by their appearance. Some children spoke to her in some gobbledeygook African language.

She smiled sheepishly. "Ummm... Hi! I'm Sailor Jupiter! Have you guys heard of me?"

More unintelligible comments. Some finger pointing. She was suddenly conscious of how strange she looked compared to them in rough linen or leather clothing. "Ah... I'm not from around here..." She wondered who she could ask for directions around here. She was pretty sure very few Africans spoke Japanese.

Part of her wanted to spend more time with the children, establishing some kind of understanding through the language barrier, but she had a battle to get back to. Or maybe she did. Kunzite was trying to banish them through time, wasn't he? Had Ranma blocked him? It would be really weird if she had landed several years back in time. If she went far enough back... she could see her parents! She might save them!

She got up and dusted herself off. "I gotta go! Remember... be good and stay away from any youma!" She waved and skipped off down the street.

"I *would* have to end up in Timbuktu," she muttered under her breath. She got some distance down the street before taking to the low rooftops of the neighborhood to get a commanding view of the area.

There were some taller buildings in one direction, presumably the business district. But then she realized that told her nothing. As far as she knew, the only people in Africa who spoke Japanese were Reika's archaeological team. The only other language she knew even a smattering of was English, and she had no idea if that was spoken by many people here.

She sighed and sat down heavily, completely at a loss. Here she was, lost in Africa, possibly years in the past. The other Senshi (and Ranma's friends) might or might not be here. She didn't know what they used for money around here but it sure wouldn't look like the yen she had. It was almost enough to make her cry.

No. She would not cry. She was tougher than that. She was a Sailor Senshi. She would find a way through. She would go looking for her friends. And for some indication of the date. There might be little chance of finding anything, but she couldn't think of anything else to do.

No, there was one thing. She had her communicator watch. They had done tests on range and found they could get good reception anywhere in the Tokyo prefecture. If anyone else was in the same city, she would be able to reach them. "This is Sailor Jupiter! I'm okay! Is anyone there?"

She tried for several minutes with no success. At best, the others were not awake yet; at worst, they were not even in this time period. Hopefully they were, if not close by.

With nothing else to do, she started hopping roofs again, heading downtown. She couldn't think of what else to do but search at random, for one of her team or an enemy who might lead her to a portal. Ten minutes later, something did hit her. She was looking up at the sky lazily when she saw it. Or rather, didn't see it.

"Clouds..." she whispered. "No clouds. No clouds! Yeah!" She searched around and saw a suitable junkpile. "SUPREME THUNDER!"

The bolt did little to affect the junk; she had put no real power into it, she just needed something to draw attention. The locals might be bemused, but any of her team would know it was her.

She stood on the rooftop waiting for several minutes before she saw a figure bounding across the rooftops at her level. It was still too small to make out, probably over a mile away, when it stopped as if looking around.

Jupiter prepared to fire another bolt when she suddenly realized it might be a youma. Eep! She should have thought of that before firing the first shot! Well, she might be able to handle *one* youma. She moved over to another rooftop with a small second story to hide in and fired off another bolt.

The figure started moving in on her. When it got into range she recognized to figure with the huge backpack: Ryoga. She waved him over.

"Hey!" Ryoga greeted her. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"There's no answer on the communicator," she said. "Do you know where we are? You've been all over the world, haven't you?"

Ryoga shook his head. "This is one of the few places I haven't been. Never spent much time in Africa. But I'm used to being lost. Downtown areas are usually good to check. If this is a capital, they'll have an embassy."

Jupiter's eyes widened. She was impressed with Ryoga's ability to handle himself in unfamiliar situations. "I hadn't thought of that! But what if it isn't a capital? Do you speak any African languages?"

"Usually English is pretty good anywhere," Ryoga said. "It's the language of business, mostly. And that looks like the business district..." He looked toward the skyscrapers in the distance.

"Well, it's a start," Jupiter said resignedly. "It's a long way back to Japan..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Venus woke up underneath a clothes rack. She looked up dumbly for a few seconds, wondering why she had landed in someone's closet. Then she heard the voices.

It sounded like she was in a store. She turned her head to the side. Yup, a clothing or department store. Clothing racks for a couple of yards, then an aisle. People walking around.

She guessed her fuku would draw stares. She detransformed and got up, working her way between the coats above her, hiding among them and peering out between the hangers.

It seemed like a normal store. A bit low class. Shoppers of all races, more African types than she remembered ever seeing in London. Christmas season promotions in English.

She quietly eased out between the clothes and between the racks, keeping low, heading for the changing rooms. She couldn't resist grabbing a few things to try on.

Once in a booth, she opened her watch and thumbed the all-call. "This is Sailor Venus, reporting in. I'm all right. Any Sailor Senshi, please respond."

After a few minutes of this, she decided she might be the first of them to wake up. More likely the others were out of range, but she would try again later. For now she needed to find out where she was exactly.

After trying on the clothes for about ten minutes, she returned them to the racks - they were tacky anyway, she decided - and headed out the front door. No one gave her a glance. Out on the street, she took in the neighborhood.

It looked suburban, downtown but not central. Low buildings. Daytime, still winter, lots of people and cars. Signs in English. Thank Kami - or maybe Ranma - for small favors: at least here she spoke the language.

"So just where is 'here', exactly?" she wondered. She started wandering down the street. It didn't look much like London, or any English town, she guessed. Possibly American. She looked for a newspaper stand or vendor.

She eventually walked past a parking lot, providing a clear line of sight into downtown. There were some tall buildings there - taller than any she had seen before, not that that was saying much; you couldn't build very high in earthquake-prone Japan and the British weren't in the habit of building very high.

One big black boxy thing drew her eye. She was no judge of height from distance, but it gave the impression of being just about the tallest building in the world. In fact, she realized it probably was. She snapped her fingers repeatedly. "That's ... that's... dammit, I should know this... Ah! The Sears Tower! Yes! I'm in Chicago!"

The crest on a passing police car confirmed it. She kept walking around, looking for a newspaper or magazine stand. Kunzite was supposed to have banished them through time; Ranma had tried to block him. How well had he done?

Soon enough, she found what she was looking for, a paper stand. The date was unchanged from the morning. She remembered well the time zone changes flying from Tokyo to London and back; accounting for that, she might have lost - or would it be gained? - no time at all. It looked as if Ranma had done very well indeed.

Next up: the other Senshi. She made her way to an alley and opened her watch. She kept her voice low. "Sailor Venus to any Sailor Senshi. I'm okay. No enemies around. Is anyone there?"

She kept trying for several minutes, with no success. Ranma had told her that the communicators would work across the greater Tokyo area, but not much beyond that; if they had landed in other cities, or countries, she would be out of luck.

"And if they're in other TIMES, I'm REALLY out of luck..." she sweatdropped. She couldn't dismiss the possibility. In fact, she wished they had gone back at least a few months. Then it would be possible to get back home again in a few days, and they could use the time to gain strength.

Well, nothing she could do about that now. She was in Chicago, of which about all she knew was it was a land of gangsters. She would almost be tempted to go looking for crimes to bust, if only she didn't have this war to get back to.

A wail of sirens in the distance drew her attention. Well, okay, maybe it wouldn't hurt to deal with ONE pack of crooks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Uranus perched on a rooftop, looking at the street below. She had found herself in an alley an few minutes ago, and had spent some time looking around. Everyone on the street seemed to be Indian.

She looked out over the low roofs around her. India was known for its poverty, and this part certainly lived up to the image. It was a shantytown, the buildings makeshift. The one Uranus was on right now didn't feel too steady, but it was one of the few two-story structures in the area.

There had been no sign of any other Senshi so far, no response on her communicator. She knew she might have to go it alone. She didn't like the odds: if all the others were out of commission, she couldn't take on the whole Dark Kingdom by herself.

Assuming she could even get there. There was no guarantee, from where she was standing, that there was an easy way to get back there. As far as she knew, the only quick way was the Tokyo portal, which was at least as far from India as the North Pole itself.

It would be hard enough not speaking the local language. She hoped there were a lot of English speakers around here. Few Indians spoke Japanese, and she had been brushing up on her English in hope of getting an automotive licence in the US or Europe when she turned 16.

A movement across the low rooftops caught her eye. Someone was roof-hopping, someone with martial arts skills. It looked to be Sailor Moon - no, the pigtails were too short and wide; it had to be - what was that Chinese girl's name? Shampoo. She jumped down and headed on an intercept course.

The two were quickly face to face. "Hey! Have you seen anyone else?"

Shampoo shook her head. "We is alone?"

"Maybe. Let's look around. There might be more of us. Your people don't have any radios or anything to talk with?" She indicated her watch.

Another shake. "Not think we be alone."

Uranus wasn't impressed by this. In the confusion of battle, especially with the numbers of people involved, it would have been a miracle if they had all stayed together. The Nerimans should have prepared better. "I guess I shouldn't have expected more from an ad hoc group. Well, we can still look around. I don't want to leave anyone behind when we go back to Japan."

"Is portal," Shampoo said. "Ranma say many big city have one. Maybe one here."

"Or maybe a hundred miles away."

"We find out." Shampoo hopped off toward a more built-up part of town.

"I guess we will," Uranus said, following after her. She wanted to find out just where 'here' was.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Neptune found herself falling to a surface that was softer than ice, harder than snow - in fact it felt... carpeted? The whiteness around her wasn't snow, but paper. As the papers settled down, she found she was in what looked to be an office.

Office workers were all looking at her, startled by her sudden appearance. They all seemed to be westerners. "Christ! Where'd you come from?" one of them asked in English. "And why's it so bloody cold?"

"Are you Sailor V?" another one asked. "I thought your stuff was orange..."

Ah. She had heard Venus had been operating in London some months ago under the name Sailor V. "I am with her team," she said slowly. Her English grades, like the rest of her studies, were good, but she was still only in junior high, after all. She wasn't quite conversational yet.

A woman in severe gray suit came out of a side office. "What's happened here? Did someone trip over a desk? Who turned off the heater?" She looked Neptune up and down. "And you. What are you supposed to be? Some Sailor V knockoff?"

"She says she's with V's team, ma'am," the young male intern said. "She just appeared out of thin air. We all saw it."

"Out of thin air? What have you been drinking? People don't just show up out of thin air!"

"Demons do," Neptune said. "I was... fighting demons - they sent me away."

"I think we ought to call the police, ma'am," the secretary said. "Sailor V was connected to Interpol. They might want to know if there's trouble her type can handle."

"Is there trouble?" the manager asked.

"There may be," Neptune said. "Someone may have followed me."

She was escorted down to the office lobby and waited half an hour for a couple of officers to show up. They were escorting a woman in a dark business suit. She went right up to Sailor Neptune. "You are a friend of Sailor Venus?" she asked in Japanese.

"I am Sailor Neptune. We both just joined the main team in Japan recently. We were invading the Dark Kingdom..."

"Is she all right? Did she have any injuries when you met her?"

"Well, I can't say how she's doing just at this moment, but she was fine when we got separated. Why? did she have to leave London because she got hurt?"

"Something like that," the woman said. That sounded to Neptune like it was a private matter. "Well, you can call me Katrina. I'm with Interpol. V-chan... Venus ... considered me like a big sister."

Neptune bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Katrina-san."

"Are you alone? Or is there a chance Venus is in London right now?"

Neptune remembered her communicator watch. She held it up to Katrina. "We use these to talk. If any of the other Senshi are in the city they will hear." She keyed the all-call. "This is Sailor Neptune. I am in good shape. Any other Senshi, please respond..."

After a few minutes of silence, she closed the watch. "If the others are here, they can't answer. Also, we had some allies with us that didn't have these watches or any way to contact us. If any strange people show up around here speaking Japanese..."

"I'll get the local police on it. Let's go." She led Neptune out to a waiting police car, both of them getting in back as the police got in front. Neptune looked about as they rode, recognizing London from common pictures and travel brochures.

Katrina had a radio which she used to contact her superiors and warn them to be on the lookout for any Japanese speakers who mysteriously appeared. She then gave directions to their driver. "We're going to a place we think the youma have been using as a base," she told Neptune. "We know we don't have the weapons to take a youma down ourselves. How about you? Can you handle them?"

"I've defeated several," Neptune admitted. "They've been getting around the world by means of portals... passages to their central base. Do you know if they have been coming from someplace in the city?"

"We've been staking out a warehouse they seem to come from, with no one else going inside first. We suspected they were coming from somewhere else."

"The North Pole. That's where their main base is. We were attacking it -"

They were interrupted by a squawk from the radio. Katrina answered it. She had to tell the person on the other end how to ask for a name in Japanese. "Ukyo Kuonji," was the name that came back.

"That was one of them," Neptune confirmed. "She had a large baker's peel she used as a weapon, and threw sharpened spatulas. She dressed in ninja gear."

Katrina asked for the location and had the driver change course. "Might as well get all of you in one place," she said. "It's a big break you showed up. We were getting worried about how we would handle them."

Neptune was slightly worried herself, knowing the other Senshi might be anywhere, fearing some of them might already be dead. She put thoughts of failure out of her mind. Right now, her own situation was looking good - she had local help, was getting reunited with a member of her (extended) team, and knew where to go to get back to the battle at hand. She hoped more of the others were doing as well.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mars found herself lying face down on grass. She got up and looked around. The grass was cut - an athletic field, she saw. It was still night, still wintry cold, though not arctic. Electric lamps provided light to the area, and told her she hadn't moved (too far) in time. The light showed a hill covered in trees at one end of the field, buildings in European style at the other.

She started walking toward the buildings. They were in symmetical layout, with a bridge in the center that resembled a famous one in Venice she had once seen pictures of. Beyond it was a very tall bell tower; instead of a traditional square tower with bronze spire, it was a circular fluted column, improbably tall, capped by a dome. It seemed almost blatantly phallic.

She walked straight through campus, under the bridge, into the atruim under the bell tower and around the area from there. This late at night, only about every third ceiling lamp was lit. She managed to find a bulletin board near one. For all that the school looked European, the notes tacked to the board were in standard Japanese. The crest on one official notice claimed it was "Ohtori Academy".

She did notice some of the posts were as recent as a few days ago; she had not gone back in time far, if at all. She keyed her communicator watch, sending out messages for any other Senshi in range, though she wasn't sure she should expect a response; she wasn't surprised to get nothing in a few minutes.

Mars was still trying when she noticed someone coming into the atrium from the same direction she had. The figure stepped into the light from the nearby lamp. It was a girl, looking about the same age as her, in robe and slippers, as if she were on her way to the restroom. She had raised her hands in some strange sort of gesture, but as she got closer, she quickly dropped to her knees, bowing to the ground, crossing her arms over her head in a posture of submission. "Please! Don't hurt me! I surrender! I'm not with them anymore!"

This caught Mars off guard. The girl was frightened of her. She tried to calm her down, adopting a soothing tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm one of the good guys. I'm Sailor Mars." She moved toward the frightened girl, only to stop short.

There was a strange feeling about her, a suspicious aura. The girl fairly reeked of magic. mars guessed her purple hair didn't come from a bottle. "Who are you? Who are you, really?" she asked pointedly.

"Himemiya. Anthy Himemiya. Please! I'm trying to keep them away!"

"You're talking about the Dark Kingdom, aren't you?" Mars guessed.

Anthy nodded. "I've kept them away! I never wanted to hurt anyone!"

Mars considered the situation, then came to a decision. "Well, why don't we get out of this chill? There are a things we ought to talk about."

Anthy looked at her with a dumbfounded expression for a moment. Then her face brightened up in a smile. "Oh... okay."

Mars followed Anthy to one of the student dorms. She had a feeling this strange girl could give her some answers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tuxedo Mask stood perched on top of a high-rise apartment. There was no mistaking the city below him: Hong Kong. He prayed either Shampoo or Cologne had landed here with him. They would be able to get him around the city.

Failing that, he could only guess where to find Japanese speakers. His main worry, of course, was for Usagi. If she were here, or really anywhere outside of Japan, she would be at a complete loss. His instinct was to find her first, and get her to safety.

Right now, all he knew was that he was here. He could stay where he was and hope one of the others managed to find him, or he could look around, for other Senshi or any youma that might be in the city.

He began dropping down the balconies, floor by floor. In his experience, if there was trouble to be found, it would find him. He would give it plenty of opportunity.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite went flying into a crowd of people. When he managed to pick himself up he was chagrined to see none of them looked like Sailor Senshi. In fact, none of them was female, or young.

He got up and looked around. He was in a bar somewhere - signs in Russian. The bar patrons he had flattened were getting up, sounding angry; some of their friends nearby, not caught by his flight, were also moving in.

"&You'll pay for that!&" "&Get him!&" Fists and bottles came flying. Kunzite couldn't dodge most of it, and was soon buried under a press of bodies intent on making him bleed.

Here he was, severely weak due to his using most of his available power to deal with the Sailor Senshi, in fact losing even more power than he'd bargained on due to that witch with the staff taking control of the effect and drawing out even more power than he'd intended to use, and now he was beset by a bunch of angry bar patrons. Well, they were only human; they couldn't take much punishment. He projected a wave of force. "Away, lowly creatures!"

The humans went flying. Had he more than a fraction of the power he usually commanded, the walls of the bar would be painted red with blood and gore - lucky for his assailants he was in bad shape; they would all live, and he didn't have time to finish them by mundane means. He didn't even have the strength to teleport away. He ran out of the bar on foot, into the cold afternoon.

He recognized downtown Moscow, within half a mile of where the local portal should be situated. He headed that way. He would need to recuperate, and probably the portal itself would be disrupted - meaning he would have to reopen it himself, costing more energy. He would not be in any shape to face the Sailor Senshi quickly.

Then again, they might not be in much better shape. And they seemed to be getting scattered. If they were all in different places, he would have the advantage - one on one, he could easily overwhelm any of them. His need to rest was only a minor delay; he could defend himself - barely - right now, and in no more than two hours he would be strong enough to decisively win against one of them.

No Muscovite interfered with him on his way. A pity, almost. There were no Sailor Senshi handy, and he felt like killing someone. He wished one of these humans would give him the slightest excuse.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Moon found her arms confined to her sides. She was in a rolled-up rug, hot and suffocating. She began to buck and squirm. "Yaaahhh! Let me out! Let me out!"

She only succeeded in using up air. She didn't quite pass out; though the air was tight, and her chest constricted, there was sunlight coming from the end of the rug beyond her head. She kept shouting when she could spare the energy, but no one seemed to notice.

After a small eternity she felt herself being lifted up and carried. She tried to shout and buck again, but the carriers didn't stop for a few minutes. Eventually, the rug was set down and unrolled. Sailor Moon continued spinning around after clearing the rug, her roll ended only by a wall.

She sat dazed against the wall for a few seconds. When her eyes could focus again she saw a pair of bearded men in dusty white robes staring at her from the other end of the room. Their eyes were bugged out. One of them tried to speak something she didn't recognize.

She quickly got to her feet and then in their faces. "Watch it, you bozos! Couldn't you tell I was inside that thing!" Her anger seemed wasted; they were looking up and down at her as if she were a genie from a bottle.

"Well, I guess I can forgive you for the rough treatment. Just tell me where I am and I'll be on my way."

The men gave no sign of understanding her. One of them said something that sounded like "ouri". The two men began to advance on her, arms reaching to grab.

She kicked them both in the face, knocking them over, and quickly darted between them out the door. She turned back and pulled down an eyelid at them. "You guys should learn better manners! I hope all the guys here aren't like you!"

She headed out into the heat of the city. The buildings were generally white or tan, the people largely in all-covering silken or linen robes, men in white, other figures in black, though some people of both sexes were in other generally drab outfits. At a guess, she had to be in some Arabian city.

"Well, it's better than the North Pole," she mused. "Why couldn't their hideout be in the desert around here? It would be a lot more comfortable in these Sailor fukus than the Arctic."

Several men were drawn to looking at her; looks too similar to those given by the men she had just knocked out. She jumped up to a low rooftop, hoping to get away from any danger.

She looked out over the city, having no idea where she was - she wasn't even sure any class at school had covered this part of the world. Not that she would have paid attention. "I guess I ought to read up..."

She knew she had to find the others. Especially Tuxedo Mask. They might have been caught by the Dark Kingdom, or thrown to some far time like Kunzite had said he was going to do. But how was she going to find them if she didn't know where she was?

The more she thought about things, the more her spirits fell. She didn't know exactly where she was, other than the Middle East. She was pretty sure no one here spoke Japanese. There MIGHT be a portal here - but she had no idea how to find it, if it was here at all. There might be youma lurking around, possibly ready to ambush her at any time. And none of her friends seemed to be around.

She had to find them. But how? What if they had ended up sent to different times, as Kunzite had said he would do? What if they were dead?

Tears came to her eyes. "Ami-chan... Rei-chan... Mako-chan... Minako-chan... please be alright. I know I'm not as strong as you... but... I have to be..."

But she didn't think she could be if Tuxedo Mask was lost. Withuot him, she didn't know what she would do. She didn't think she could go on.

She sat down heavily on the rooftop, at a complete loss. Right now, all she could think of to do was wait. She didn't have Ami's genius or Ranma's vision. She would just have to hope one of them would come through somehow.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mercury held up a hand against the glare. It had suddenly become uncomfortably warm and bright. She could hear urban noises around her. She slowly moved her hand away from her face, eyes lidded.

She was in an alley somewhere; the buildings on either side shaded her. Beyond the end of the alley, the street was in direct sunlight, painfully bright. She stayed where she was for a few minutes, adjusting to the light and heat.

When she felt ready to move, she first checked her communicator. No luck. Maybe the others were still unconscious, maybe not in range. Well, she had another tool to check to make sure.

She summoned her computer and activated her visor. She did an energy scan of the area. There was a knot of chaotic magical energies around her and a larger one less than two miles away. *Maybe it's a residue from the transport effect,* she thought. She wasn't sure what Ranma had done, but if it had disrupted the temporal port Kunzite was trying, it could have left energies like that. She would need more data to know for sure.

First things first. No pings from Senshi communicators. She checked for satellite signals, not sure if she might get any - she did; GPS was up. She checked her position on a global map.

"Sao Paulo, Brazil?" That seemed a strange place to land. She checked newsfeeds - no change in date. She wasn't about to chalk that up to sheer luck.

The possibilites were exciting to think about. "If Ranma managed to deflect the temporal vector of Kunzite's attack to a spatial orientation..." She ran through some calculations. It seemed easily possible Ranma's disruption had scattered them all around the area of the Dark Kingdom's crater - and if that area was dotted with portals to other parts of the world, the spatial disruption effect would be drawn to them, and anyone caught in them would likely get thrown through one or another of them.

So. The group had probably been scattered all over the world, but not through time, at least not more than a few hours. She couldn't ping the other watches without a massive boost in signal, which would require equipment she didn't have. Or possibly she could pirate some satellites and transmitters, but that could hours of work, and the Dark Kingdom was still out there, probably searching for them.

The magical disruption might cover her from detection for a while. Her best bet was to head toward that other locus of magic and determine if it really was a portal. If so, then she could at least find the others quickly.

Now with a clear goal, she set out across the city of Sao Paulo, hoping everyone else could hold out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Pluto flailed about, falling a short distance and landing on her backside. Her staff went flying from her grip; she reached out and grabbed something irregular, holding on while the world spun.

She opened her eyes. She was on a balcony, holding an ornate grillwork that served as a railing. She didn't have a headache, just dizziness and fuzziness. Time-sight didn't work, of course, but that might clear up later.

The balcony door was open; there was noise from the room inside. Someone came to te door - a man. A very naked man. "Oh! I didn't order any other girls. Is this going to be charged extra?" he said in Japanese. "Hmmm. Cosplay. Sailor Senshi. I think I could get into this..."

The man was dangerously close, sinking down onto his knees. Pluto lashed out with a classic boot-to-the-head manoeuver, sending him flying. A feminine cry came from within the room.

Pluto got up, still a bit unsteady, assuming a defensive stance. The man lay still on the ground. Neither he nor the woman on the bed turned into a youma. The woman was as naked as the man, babbling in some strange language.

She looked about the room. Her staff was on the floor of the balcony, twisted into an S shape and smoking; liquid silver seeped out of cracks in its tungsten skin. So much for that one - she would have to pick up a few regular steel or bronze bars somewhere.

She turned to the interior of the room. A door was open - the bathroom, as it turned out. There were no youma about, and without her staff, or her time-sight, masculine strength would be more useful. She detransformed, turned on the shower, and held her head under for a few seconds.

A male Ranma Saotome walked with increasing steadiness back to the balcony and looked out over the cityscape. He recognized Bangkok - his father had brought him here to check out the local martial arts experts last year. Judging from the decorative facade on the building he was on, it had to be a brothel. Much higher class than the ones his father had used then. Ranma, of course, had only seen the training halls his father had taken him to - still enforcing his policy of not allowing him any distractions from the Art.

The girl on the bed had picked up a phone, no doubt calling in the bouncers. She probably didn't speak Japanese, unlike her client, and neither of them would know anything he wanted to learn anyway. He jumped down to the street and began walking in a random direction.

He found it hard to put into words just what he had done with Kunzite's attack; all he knew for sure was that it was the only thing he could do that didn't lead to a completely black future. Going back over it, he decided if he had to describe it, he had twisted the thrust of Kunzite's attack into a different direction. It had felt like some other directions he could try to go in were blocked or channeled somehow, like being trapped between two walls. It figured the one direction he could go was... out.

Out across the world. The vortex had jumbled everyone about, then gotten attracted to several points around the area - he suddenly snapped his fingers in realization. "The portals! They had a bunch of portals there..."

The martial artists had come in through the Tokyo portal; it made sense that there would be others there as well. They had attracted the vortex, funneling people through them. He had the distinct impression of being shoved through a narrow tube before landing here. There had been no one with him - the others had all vanished in other directions.

So, he was alone in Bangkok, no staff, no help. There would still be a portal somewhere about the city, if only he could find it - his sense of direction probably couldn't be trusted, given his recent dizziness. But that was clearing up, and he was sure he would eventually be able to get visions again.

The fact that he seemed to have landed some distance from the portal was actually encouraging. It meant any guard youma at the portal, if they had noticed him passing through - if he were lucky, they hadn't - would have to search a wide area for him, and in male form they wouldn't find him. The others, wherever they had landed, would be in similar circumstances: safe for the moment, unable to go anywhere. So he, and they, had time to get some rest and recover energy. He decided to rest a bit before changing back and trying to get any visions.

Settling in on a suitable rooftop, he sat in lotus position and began to meditate. Already the fuzziness in his head felt like it was clearing. Before long, of course, he was snoring.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Cologne found herself in a parking lot outside a McDonald's restaurant. It was still night, but warm. The cars were mostly not Japanese models. A news rack near the door to the building was empty, but claimed it sold the Sydney Morning Herald.

So. Australia. Her English was good enough to get around, at least. But her more esoteric senses would be more useful for the moment. She headed out along the street, looking for a nice quiet park.

It took a good fifteen minutes to find a suitable spot. Once she did, she began to meditate, focusing on chi flows in the area. Her range would not be that far, but she should get some idea of what was going on.

She soon saw there was a darkness to the local chi, a taint recognizable from Tokyo when the Dark Kingdom had been undertaking major operations. There was a definite presence here. She headed off in what seemed to be a direction where the dark energies were stronger. It would probably be a youma, possibly a portal.

She couldn't actually kill a youma, of course. But she had a great many tricks up her sleeve. She wouldn't have to kill a portal guardian to get past it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"There is no sign of the invaders, my Queen," Magnetite reported. "Some of our youma have shown up scattered in the tunnels. My instruments also detected no residual traces of temporal displacement. It seems Sailor Pluto was entirely successful in diverting the banishment into a spatial teleportation."

"Then where are they now?" Beryl demanded. "If they are not here, where are they?"

"The teleportation effect reacted with our portals in the area. The Senshi, and some of our youma, were sent through. I believe, however, that no more than two invaders went to any one place."

"So now we face a war on a dozen fronts instead of just one!"

"A dozen fronts that all have choke points, my queen. I will station what youma we have at the portals to ambush them as they come through."

"Send them through! Have them search for the Sailor Senshi! We know the cities we are invading better than they will. We should have the advantage there!"

"Unfortunately, my queen, the portals were badly disrupted by the passage and the distortion effects," Magnetite said. "They will be impassable for at least another hour. After then, however, I believe we can expect them to try to force their way through. And we shall be waiting for them..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Note about timing: for purposes of this fic, I am holding to a fanfic convention, once predominant in Ranma, SM, and crossover fics, that the events of both series begin in the spring of 1992. Strange to think how long ago that was...

This means, among other things, that cell phones of the time are bulky and unheard of for school kids to carry. It also means the Sears Tower is at this time still the tallest building in the world.

As to the action: As interesting as it might be to bring in elements of popular anime of the time (Slayers, Evangelion, Rouroni Kenshin, etc.) I have decided such a far-ranging crossover deserves a mega-fic all its own. Here, I will just include a couple of the more plausible ones available on Earth at this time - Utena and GSC.


	25. Scattered

Chapter 25: Scattered

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

I might tweak this later, but for now it seems to be good enough to go with...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Detective Roy Coleman was getting severely annoyed. The Feds could do that to people. Here he was, ready to stage a raid on a warehouse, a known perp was inside, as well as a certain bounty hunter - and they said wait for their people.

"$So when can we expect this team? ... MAYBE an hour? They're handling one on the South Side? AND the North Shore? We got a situation here! There's people inside already, people I don't want hurt... Terrorists? Looks like a bunch of clowns to me. You're sure these people on the South Side and the North Shore are with them...? Alright, I'll wait, but I wanna know the details afterward. And if any shots are fired I'm gonna have to go in anyway... hello? Hello? Dammit!$"

Coleman slammed the radio down on the hood of his police cruiser and fumed. It was bad enough when people all over the city had started coming down with some bug that flattened them, sapping peoples' energy to an extent no flu ever had before. Then there were indications that it was no mere flu, it was associated with certain kinds of merchandise, which meant drug contamination. Nothing had shown up in lab testing, but Coleman had dutifully traced the merchandise to this warehouse and raided it. Again, everything came up clean.

Then the feds had nosed in, claiming the loss of energy was due to terrorist action and ordering him to keep an eye on the warehouse and whoever came and went from it. Apparently they were staging people and equipment there. In fact he had noticed people leaving who couldn't possibly have entered normally - but the feds had told him to keep away and just watch for now; they would bring in a special team to handle it.

When the clowns had shown up half an hour ago, he had been told the team was on its way, and that he should stake out the warehouse, but not enter. He would have to wait for the federal team, which had special personnel and equipment for the job. Or so he was told. When they got here, Coleman would see for himself. And ask why terrorists would dress as clowns, painting their skin green or purple or whatever.

A block away he had recognized a Cobra parked on the street. It seemed a certain bounty hunter had tracked a target into the warehouse. From the shots earlier, he could guess what had gone down. He would love to see the looks on the feds if a normal - well, exceptional - bounty hunter managed to bag their terrorist/clowns without special equipment.

TV reporters were nearby, keeping the city abreast of the situation. Youths, some in gang colors, were loitering at a discreet distance. One in particular, an Asian kid, wore a martial arts robe and carried a samurai sword, unsheathed. Coleman could not ignore that. He walked up to the kid and pointed to the blade. "$And just who do you think you are, carrying that thing around?$"

"$Kuno Tatewaki. Blue Thunder. Age seventeen,$" the boy said slowly in heavily accented English.

"$Blue Thunder? You think you're some kinda superhero? Beat it, kid, and keep that thing out of sight. This city don't have laws to carry those. If I see you try to use it, I'll have to confiscate it.$"

The boy pointed at the warehouse. "$You have monster there. This can kill it.$"

Coleman rolled his eyes. "$Monsters? What are you on, kid? Look, this here's a police operation. Get lost or you'll get hurt.$"

The boy looked ready to retort when a girl came by and grabbed his arm. "$Excuse my brother,$" she said in a British accent. "$He just got off the plane and doesn't know his way around here. I'll explain polite behavior to him. Sorry for any trouble, officer.$" She dragged the boy away, giving him some kind of lecture in Japanese.

Coleman sighed. He hoped the kid didn't have any delusions of being able to handle terrorists. Even ones dressed like clowns. Right now, he had more immediate concerns. Like when the feds would get here. And whether his girlfriend and her employer could avoid shooting up the place before then.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You are most definitely not my sister," Kuno said to the girl dragging him away from the police siege. "Though you are yet a vision of loveliness. If only I could stay with you in this strange city, but alas, I have enemies to pursue. But if ever you are in Tokyo..."

"I'm Sailor Venus," Minako said simply. "I'm in disguise. Not trying to draw attention. Which looks like something you could use lessons in."

"Sailor Venus? Ah. Tatewaki Kuno does not hide from his enemies -"

"But he could stand to hide from the cops from time to time. You may have noticed they don't take it so well when people swing swords in public. This isn't Nerima." For that matter, Minako wondered how Kuno managed to get away with it in Tokyo.

She looked at the warehouse, gauging the police siege. Well, stakeout, right now; they didn't have enough officers on site for a proper siege. The rear of the warehouse seemed uncovered. "Let me change and we'll check out the back. I'm sure their portal is in there. With that, we can get back in the fight. Okay?"

"Fortune smiles upon us," Kuno said. "Let these vile creatures know the wrath of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Minako sweatdropped. "Sounds like you've got a few marbles loose..." she murmured. She left him heading around the back of the warehouse while she ducked into an alley to transform. Whatever romantic notions this Kuno might have, he had survived the Tokyo tunnel, so she figured he could at least make a good distraction without getting killed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Inside the warehouse, Rally Vincent was hiding in a stack of boxes and trying to play dead. She hoped her target, a mafia-connected driver by the name of Ray Letizia, and his contact didn't make her dead for real.

Somewhere on the other side of the warehouse, May was also hiding among the stacked crates. In the center was Letizia and his contact, presumably a representative of the warehouse manager, dressed as a Christmas elf complete with pointed ears. For some reason, she had caked on enough makeup to make her skin snow-white.

The two were on guard against the bounty hunters, but at the moment were arguing over payment. Letizia's voice came from behind the boxes. "$Look, just give me the payment and you can do what you want with these two.$"

"$I told you, it's late,$" the girl said. "$Something has happened to our connection. You'll have to wait.$"

"$You got ten minutes,$" Letizia said. "$One hundred grand in uncut diamonds, just like we agreed. If you can't get them by then, this could get ugly.$"

The girl walked closer to him; Rally heard her grab him by the coat. "$Perhaps you'd like to see for yourself!$" Rally risked darting her head out to see what the girl was doing to Letizia; she might have a chance to stop them both and bag her bounty.

To her horror, the girl THREW Letizia with inhuman strength at the shadows at the far corner of the warehouse, shadows that had seemed to absorb the light. Whatever was in them spat Letizia out in a spray of blood and gore. It was as if his body had simply exploded in there.

Rally turned back and choked down her urge to vomit. Whatever was going on here, she wanted no part of it, and she had no reason to be here if Letizia was dead. She began making her way toward the front exit.

"$Still unstable... I hope they fix that soon,$" the girl murmured. She turned toward Rally's direction. "$Now for you!$"

Rally barely had time to jump back as a bunch of Christmas ornaments sailed over the boxes shielding her from the girl. They were bombs, small but effective. Well, Rally could fight fire with fire here. "$May! Smoke!$"

"$Coming right up!$" May called. There were several pops as May's smoke grenades went off. The elf-girl threw her own bombs in response at both of them, flushing them out.

Rally took a bead on the elf-girl, hoping to shoot a bomb out of her hand as she threw it, but the girl's hands were empty. Then there was an ornament-bomb sailing her way, appearing out of nowhere as if summoned. Rally dodged and fired unthinkingly, putting a round right between the girl's eyes.

The girl blinked. The hole closed up. She shook her head as if to clear her senses. "$That HURT! You'll pay!$" This time when she extended her arms candy canes came at her, flying at almost bullet speeds. Their ends were sharpened, perforating Rally's jacket and pinning her to the wall.

Drugs, Rally realized. The girl must have released a hallucinogenic gas at some point. Rally had too much bad experience with that sort of thing. In all likelihood she hadn't actually hit the girl. A tug on her gun arm told that the candy canes pinning it were more like steel spikes. She would have to rely on her partner. "$MAY! Give her everything you got!$"

"$Oh no you won't!$" The girl leapt straight to the top of the crates on May's side and fired a series of bombs. A bomb duel started, obscured by the drifting clouds of smoke. At least this was taking some time. Rally hoped the cops outside would take their cue and charge in.

The first person through the side door wasn't dressed as a cop. He wore a martial arts training robe and brandished a sword. Rally couldn't understand what he said, but it sounded Japanese. The elf-girl cried out in surprise. "$More of your friends? They can't help you!$" She began throwing bombs and candy canes at the newcomer.

The smoke was settling into a haze. Rally worked at the canes pinning her clothes until she could get free. There was a sound of breaking glass - one of the high windows near the roof had been shattered. Yet another new voice rang out. "$Never fear! Sailor Venus is here!$" Sudden coughing. "$Ack. Just great...$"

"$Sailor Senshi! Here! Impossible!$" The elf-girl now sounded alarmed. Rally was getting frustrated at the smoke, though she had ordered it. If only Roy would take his cue...

He did, but was less than helpful. His voice came over a loudspeaker from outside. "$This is the police! Everybody come out with your hands where we can see them!$"

Rally cursed. Roy wasn't going to risk going inside just yet. The female newcomer shouted "Crescent Beam SHOWER!" followed by more windows breaking. Rally finished working herself free of the "candy canes" and kept low along the wall, trying to make it to the button that would open the main door. She needed to air this place out.

The elf-girl suddenly appeared before her out of the smoke. "$Gotcha!$" She thrust her arms forward, ready to launch more canes or bombs. Rally reacted instantly, emptying her clip into the girl's head and body. She did stagger, but the wounds began closing up immediately.

While she was stunned, Rally ran past her, trying to find the door button. She ran into a tall male figure - the boy with the sword, in hot pursuit of the elf-girl. They went down in a heap.

"$Dammit!$" Rally got herself up, gun at the ready, loading in a new clip. She aimed back at the elf-girl - she had disappeared. *Already able to move,* Rally lamented. *After what I did to her, she should't be breathing ever again.* She continued over toward the main door, hoping to get herself out and invite the cops in.

The boy had now gotten up and dusted himself off. "$Are you okay?$" he said unsteadily. He didn't sound like he knew English too well.

"$Get DOWN!$" Rally pushed the boy's head down just in time to avoid it getting holed by more canes. The girl was leaping about the tops of the crates with great agility, moving faster than Rally could track, throwing canes and bombs at random. A girl in a garish, and unseasonable, costume dodged the projectiles and aimed a pointed finger.

"Crescent Beam!" A ray of light came from the finger, held for several seconds, swinging in an arc across the middle of the warehouse, but the madly bouncing elf-girl managed to avoid it.

"$Blast!$" the girl said. Rally guessed she must have been the one who came in through the windows. "$If only I could pin her down...$" She squinted as if in concentration, becoming vulnerable to attack.

Rally noticed a length of chain nearby and grabbed one end. She whipped the other to this Sailor Venus, pulling her in. "$Who do you think you are? This isn't some comic book! You could get killed here! We've got to make it to the door!$"

Venus wasn't listening. There was a look of inspiration on her face. "$That's it!$" She pointed her finger again, straight out along the wall this time, and began concentrating. "Venus... Love... Me.. Chain!"

Another ray of light formed, then holes appeared along its length. The ribbon of light became a chain of glowing links, snaking along the open-air path. Venus whipped it up over the crates and made a few motions with her hands as if adjusting it.

The elf-girl cried out, apparently caught. Venus pulled the chain back hard. The boy with her brought up his samurai sword just above the incoming chain. The elf-girl sailed over the crates, her neck right at the level of the blade.

As with the bullet holes, there was no blood. The elf-girl simply turned to dust. Venus breathed a loud sigh of relief. "$Glad that's over...$"

Rally was willing to take all this in stride, hoping to get a real explanation when whatever drugs she had inhaled had cleared her system. She made her way along the wall to the main door and opened it, waving the cops in. "$Roy! All clear! They're dead!$"

"$But who were they, anyway?$" May asked as she ran out from behind her boxes.

"$Demons," Venus said. "$Actual magical monsters. You guys should leave this to us. We're professionals.$" She adopted a self-satisfied smirk.

All of the adults groaned at this. "$And just who the heck is this?$" Roy asked.

"$Sailor Venus, at your service. You may have heard of me...$"

Roy shook his head. "$Nope. Should I have?$"

Venus was crestfallen. "$I know there's been articles about me in the papers...$"

"$Not the ones I read. Where's your family, kid? They're gonna be worried about you.$"

"$Well, I'm living in Tokyo these days, but I didn't exactly come over on a plane.$" She gestured to the dark space in the far corner of the warehouse. "$That over there is a portal to the Dark Kingdom. I came here through that...$"

"You did?" Rally said incredulously. "$Look at those blood spatters, girl. That's all that's left of the last guy to go in there. The elf-girl said it was... unstable.$"

Venus went white, looking at what remained of the hapless Letizia. "$Unstable? Ahhhyaaaa...$" She turned to Kuno. "$We may be stuck here a while...$"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mars sipped her tea, savoring the taste. "This is very good," she said to her host.

Thank you," Anthy said. "I've had... some time to practice."

"So... you say the Dark Kingdom has been trying to recruit you? You feel like you have some power."

"Well, actually, I WAS with them at first," Anthy admitted. "Beryl and her henchmen came to our kingdom, as they did to many other lands, recruiting for their army. They favored an infiltration strategy in those days, going first for the women of the kingdom, and hoping to use them to get to the men. I was a princess, and my brother was very much the protecting prince. He was able to fight the youma and save the women of the land. But I... I was the only one he couldn't save... because I was his sister..."

"And so you fell under their sway." It was clear this Anthy was ashamed of herself. Mars began to feel some sympathy.

"I studied under Beryl for a while. My powers were only minor, I never went into the field with the main armies. They had to... deal with my brother, and I didn't want to lose him. So I volunteered to... contain him. And then, when that light shone from the moon, I knew the invasion had been defeated, and I was free of them. I didn't find out until much later all that had really happened..."

She trailed off, seeming to be hurt by the memories. Mars tried to soothe her. "You're proving your strength now, though. You resist their call. You don't have to be a slave to your past life. We were all born anew in this time, and we have new choices to make. I think you're making the right one."

Anthy now blinked in confusion. "Reborn...? That's how it is for you? I'm... I'm sorry, somehow I thought you were like me, or something..."

"Like you?" Mars' eyes went wide at the implication. "You mean you actually LIVED this whole time? Immortal?"

"My immortality is not like yours was. Yours was a blessing from Serenity, and the guinzuishou. Mine is a curse." She swept her arm, indicating the room, and the campus beyond. "I'm trapped here, you see. This school... it's a gilded cage for me. I've been in one cage after another since that time, only able to see the world when I move to a new cage. The youma... they came and told me I could have my freedom, if I would return to them. But the price... it's something I can't do."

"Still... to be so old... to have lived so long... all that you've seen... that you remember..." Memories drifted up, memories recovered by Shampoo's therapy, of life in the Moon Kingdom. They had all been immortal, ageless, the full citizens of the Kingdom. But though their predecessors had lasted millennia, the Senshi and their Princess had only been a few decades old when their lives were cut short by the Dark Kingdom. More the tragedy.

Here was someone who knew what it was like to live thousands of years. The oldest person in the world, easily. A treasure trove of history. Mars had to ask about it. "It must have been hard, hasn't it? Living so long, seeing so much. Seeing people live and die..."

"It is, at times," Anthy conceded, "and I don't think I could go on if I remembered everything. But that's impossible, of course. The brain is only so large. You can only remember so much. Sooner or later, everything that isn't part of your present life is forgotten, even the most cherished memories. In a way, to be always living is, also, to be always dying. Always leaving pieces of yourself behind. All I really have now is myself and my brother."

Mars was a bit disappointed, but she was familiar with this view of immortality, from some stories she had read, ideas of immortality being unbearable if one had to always be alone. But Anthy had at least one other person with her. "Your brother? He's here?"

"He isn't what he once was. Only a shell of his former self, these days. But I still love him dearly. The Dark Kingdom has offered me freedom from my imprisonment, but it would mean leaving him behind. I couldn't do that."

"Well, I can help get them off your back, at least. The other Senshi and I were taking the fight to them when I got thrown here. Do you know how they're getting youma here? Is there a portal in this town?"

Anthy nodded. "I can't leave the campus, but I am aware of what goes on around town. I'll have to get a map to show you where it is. But the magical effect that threw you here also disrupted the portal badly. You wouldn't survive trying to go through it right now."

"Hmmm. That might be trouble. We were in a pitched battle. If we have to wait to use the portal, they'll be waiting for us on the other side when we can use it."

"Beryl won't wait," Anthy said. "She would send someone through to check. I'll have to prepare to deal with it."

"How do you deal with them, exactly?" Mars asked. "I have wards that can paralyze and disenchant. Is it something like that?"

"I've been relying on a few spells, and setting up magic circle traps. And I have a few offensive spells. I can show you them before they arrive, if you like."

"I'd like that. You must know a lot more about Silver Millennium magic than me. The other Senshi and I have been trying to get stronger, practicing our attacks all the time. And remember our past lives in more detail. We wanted to know what powers we had before..."

"Well, I wouldn't know the details," Anthy said. "The Generals might have known what you could do, but I wasn't in on the briefings. But I do know Silver Millenium magic is very freeform, it depends a lot on emotional power to shape it. In the hands of the Queen, she could change people's ages or appearances, create bodies for disembodied spirits, or banish them." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about your powers? What have you been able to do so far?"

"Well, I have a straight blast of flame, the Fire Soul..."

Their discussion of magical matter became ever more technical, as they prepared for the arrival of unwelcome guests.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is the place?" Ukyo asked. "A taxi garage?"

"We've had it under surveillance for a few weeks," Katrina said. "We didn't want to move until we could find the Senshi. Now that you're here, we can cut them off at the source."

A policeman who had been talking on a radio took Katrina aside and reported something to her. When he was done, she turned back to Ukyo and Neptune. "There's been youma appearances in the city. Three so far. Bold attacks, lots of damage, whole streets knocked unconscious. Local police are trying to contain them."

Ukyo had her spatula at the ready. "All right. Let's take care of them. Where's the nearest one?"

"You're not going," Katrina said. "We need you here. We just have to keep the others busy - this garage is their source. We have to cut off further reinforcements and keep them from getting away. Once we do that, we can deal with any on this side."

Neptune nodded approvingly. "I guess you have experience with dealing with these eruptions?"

"Actually, this is troubling - three at once is unheard of. Usually there's only one operating at a time, if that. And they don't show themselves openly unless their cover is compromised."

Ukyo snapped her fingers. "They came with us! They got caught in the banishing effect like we did! They aren't prepared for operations here. They're just acting on instinct or something."

"They may not even know what city they are in," Neptune said. "Or where the portal is. So they don't know where they can flee to. All they will know is they can get stronger and deal with enemies by absorbing energy."

"Which they can't do if no one is near them," Katrina said. "So we can keep them isolated and clean them up after we've taken this place. So. Are you guys ready?"

"One minute." Ukyo dug through the glove compartment of a police car and came out with pad and paper. She began writing a list of things for her tricks. "It would help if you could get me this stuff. I ran out in our battles earlier."

"Katrina looked over the list. "What's all this stuff for? We're supposed to be fighting them, not cooking for them."

"It's my family's martial art. Okonomiyaki style martial arts. Tempura flakes mixed with gunpowder to stun. Rubberized yakisoba noodles to tie them up. Flour bombs to cloud their vision. We use throwing spatulas as weapons - regular spatulas will do if you can get a sharpening stone."

"We have plenty of gunpowder with us, and stun grenades," Katrina pointed out. "Smoke grenades for clouds, tear gas if that works on them, ropes and chains to tie the things up, and regular throwing knives. All courtesy of SAS. The government here is taking these monsters very seriously."

Ukyo twirled a throwing knife, feeling the balance. "Different from what I'm used to, but I guess I can work with it. All right, let's go."

They attempted to send two plainclothes officers in through the front door, both wearing wires. There were sounds of a scuffle, then the officers reported they were down. "Looks like we've lost surprise. We're going in full strength! Come on!"

Katrina let a pair of men with clear plastic shields lead the way in through a side door. They quickly slipped - the floor was covered in what smelled like motor oil. Katrina levelled her gun at the youma. She didn't bother to yell "Freeze!"; she merely fired.

It did no good. The youma looked like it was wearing car body panels; the bullets bounced off. It pointed its arms at her. With a shout of "Taxi!" it summoned tires that pinned Katrina's arms to her sides.

Ukyo and Neptune were coming in behind her, able to dodge. They threw smoke grenades and dodged behind taxi cabs. The youma dodged to keep clear of the smoke, heading first for Neptune, correctly guessing her the more dangerous opponent. Ukyo threw several knives at the youma.

The body plates were not all-covering; Ukyo's aim was good enough to get her knives between the joints and into the neck. The youma, of course, barely noticed, forcing the knives out. It noticed the concussion grenade a bit more: the blast threw it against another parked taxi.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune's blast came through the smoke, hitting the youma in the side. It was still powerful enough for a kill. The youma screamed and fell to dust, leaving body plates and a few tires lying in a heap on the concrete floor like a pile of spare parts.

Ukyo helped Katrina get free of the tires binding her. "Looks like it's just the one, right now," she said. "We're clear."

Neptune moved toward the dark circle on the back wall. "It's their portal. We can get back to the fight."

"Wait!" Katrina said. "Don't go through yet. It might be booby trapped."

"Good thinking," Ukyo said. "We were just in a battle with them when we got sent here. They've had at least twenty minutes to prepare now." She grabbed one of the tires she had pried off of Katrina and threw it at the dark patch. It blew up into shards of rubber.

"Nasty. I guess this means we're stuck a while. Unless there's another portal somewhere in the city...?"

"This is the only one," Katrina said. "But we might as well call in the other teams and have them lure their youma here so we can finish them off."

"Reduce our problem here," Neptune said. "And after that?"

"After that," Ukyo sighed, "we have to hope Ranma or one of the others can fix this..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ami Mizuno was, by wide agreement, an excellent student. Bright, serious, hard-working, committed, top grades, acing every test. Normally she was months ahead in her schoolwork, keeping a sizable buffer in case she got sick or had some sort of emergency.

That buffer had gotten shorter since she became Sailor Mercury. Moreso when Ranma and Cologne had given her some books to study: Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Musashi's The Book of Five Rings, and several other titles on military strategies, tactics, principles, history. Not her usual fare, to be sure. She had naturally asked: "Will I be tested on this?"

"Oh, you'll be tested, all right," Cologne had said. "You'll be tested by the youma. You can imagine the price for failure."

She could indeed. She had taken to it with the same all-out effort of her other studies. And it had proven useful immediately, in helping her understand what was happening and how to set up fights against youma. The practice sessions had helped as well. She was now becoming a competent all-around warrior.

Now she would have to apply what she had learned, alone, to survive and reunite with her comerades, and continue a battle for the fate of the world. Starting with first principles: "Know your enemy and yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in danger."

This was her specialty: knowing things. Alone of all Senshi she had specific tools for gathering information. She had put them to work in the battle, and they were instrumental in their success so far. Now her visor and computer were needed more than ever to scope out her current situation.

She hadn't gotten an exact count of either youma or portals when she was mapping the battlefield at the North Pole, but she remembered there seemed to be at least a dozen portals in the area, and enough youma still moving late in the battle to allow the Dark Kingdom to have a full dozen cover each one. She did not know, however, how many youma would have been thrown through the portals, as she had. She didn't know exactly where her teammates were, but it seemed a safe bet they had landed safely, if randomly, in distant parts of the world, as she had. She knew there were no active youma gathering energy in Sao Paulo at the moment, and their portal was in a burned-out, abandoned house in a run-down neighborhood.

She was now hiding in a tree overlooking that house. No youma were in the immediate area. The magical interference indicated the portal would be fatal to anyone, human or youma, trying to go through it. At the rate it was subsiding, the portal would be stable enough to use within an hour. After that, she could guess Beryl would send what youma were available to search for the Senshi and try to draw them out. She tried to guess what orders Beryl would give.

This was, as Cologne had warned, perhaps the trickiest part of the warrior's art: knowing an enemy well enough to guess how he would react in a situation neither of you controlled. She wasn't sure she had enough data to guess accurately, so she assumed Beryl would have lots of youma available, and be pretty smart. She would send a team of at least a dozen to secure each portal. It would be further split to cover both sides of the portal, with a roaming team to search in case the Senshi were not in the immediate area. This team would include whatever aerial members they had, while the ones guarding the portal would be spread out within sight of each other with orders that one should try to get through the portal to report to Beryl if the other should come under attack.

So much for an ideal case. She waited patiently as the minutes ticked away until the time she would know for sure what she would have to deal with.

After a while a woman came running up the street, going right into the burned-out house. Mercury tuned her equipment to hear what was going on inside the house. The woman stood before the portal for some minutes, saying something in Portugese, then seemed to pace.

Possibly a youma. The incoming team would use her, with her knowledge of the area, on the recon team. It was in Mercury's interest to defeat her. Which was something of a problem: she had no offensive powers, at least not yet.

She had been working on that, at least. Ranma had Cologne had felt she should be capable of a direct-damage ranged attack like the other Senshi, something probably cold-based. She had gotten her Shabon Spray colder and heavier, to the point where she could freeze things in place. It would have to do. With the youma frozen, she destroy it by pushing it into the portal.

No time to waste. She jumped down from the tree and crept up to the house, trying to navigate a path that would allow her to fire at the youma as it stood in front of the portal. The portal faced a wall with no door, so she couldn't get enough momentum for a flying kick to knock it through.

There were times when stealth was necessary in battle, and this was one. Of course, Cologne had anticipated this, and had the Senshi practice moving over a floor spread with corn flakes. It paid off now, as Mercury reached the door to the portal room undetected. She ducked her head around the door frame, checking the room. There was a window opposite the door, the portal against the left wall, and a humanoid figure, with orange and red skin and clothes. The youma had dropped its disguise, probably expecting whatever had affected the portal would know about its true nature.

It was right. It was also unaware of Mercury's position. She made the most of the advantage, jumping out to fire. "Shabon Spray... FREEZE!"

The youma barely began to yelp when it was encased in a block of ice. Mercury rushed in and began to push the block toward the portal. She had only budged it by a few inches when the youma within began to glow. The ice suddenly grew warm, then began to melt. The surface became too slippery to push.

Mercury jumped back out of the room just before the block exploded, sending ice shards everywhere. The youma shouted something in Portugese as Mercury fired a normal Shabon Spray to fog the area and made her escape.

She wound her way through the house as the youma began firing blasts of flame, very similar to Mars' Fire Soul. Outside, a breeze had arisen, blowing the fog away; the heat of the day didn't help, and the youma's blasts were making it worse. She was fully exposed before reaching the tree, which the youma set alight.

Mercury turned and dodged as the youma fired another blast directly at her. So it was to be a pursuit battle, then. Perhaps she could wear down the youma's energy. "How about this? Shabon Spray! Shabon Spray FREEZE!"

The combination was effective. The youma was busy burning off the fog when the second blast had hit, freezing it in place. It bought her enough time to open some distance, making her way to the nearest crossroads. People were now coming out of nearby houses to see what the commotion was.

More than ever she wished she had a damaging attack. She was spending power at a heavy pace; if only she could spend it in the right way... she turned and faced the youma as it charged. It stopped short and fired a blast of fire, just within effective range. She had to meet it with her own attack. "Shabon Spray!" This time she kept up a sustained stream, pushing herself to the limit. Heavier, denser, colder, blocking the blasts of flame from the youma. Steam sprayed wide, creating rainbows. Water began to puddle on the pavement. Beyond the battle, behind the youma, she could see mirages on the road.

Mirages... something clicked in Sailor Mercury. She charged up with more power than ever before, summoning a blast of water, twirling in a dance to shape her power. "SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!"

The resulting blast of water did more than just douse the youma's flames; it washed over the youma itself, which screamed in pain and fell to dust in its wake. Mercury collaped to the road, exhausted, but relieved.

She walked as fast as she dared out of the neighborhood and detransformed when she could get out of sight. She sat down heavily, just glad to be alive. The battle would resume as soon as Beryl sent her youma through to check on things here.

Ami Mizuno was not in the habit of missing questions on her tests. If she could keep up her usual high standard of performance here, she would earn the only grade that mattered: survival.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The tears had dried, leaving Sailor Moon to look blankly out over the rooftops, completely at a loss. This was interrupted by the sight of a white figure leaping up to the rooftops several blocks away.

No - not leaping, judging by the way he landed in a heap; he had been thrown or launched. The sight looked puzzling at first. Then a second figure joined it. Then a third.

Sailor Moon's mind started to work again, recognizing the signs. "A fight? Is there a youma there?" Her spirits were strangely lifted by the prospect. Here, at least, was something she could do. She leapt off across the city, bouncing along rooftops and occasionally down to street level, hoping to catch the monster unawares.

She arrived at the rooftop with that the first figure in white had landed on: a man in the same Arabic dress as the ones who had unrolled her from her rug. He looked to be in pain, but was recovering mobility. Looking around the nearby roofs, she saw the others in much the same condition.

She assumed a stance on the edge of the roof. Below her was a bazaar, with a light green figure fighting someone in the middle of it. She couldn't resist making a speech. "Stop right there! You shouldn't bother people who are just buying their daily bread! In the name of the moon - "

She stopped short as she recognized the light green dress: a Furinkan uniform. It was - "Akane...?"

"Maybe THIS will teach you to be polite to a lady! Try touching me with THAT hand again, why don't you?" Akane gave the hapless man at her feet a few more kicks, then looked up, noticing Sailor Moon. "Oh! Finally! A familiar face! I was just teaching these perverts a lesson. They can't seem to keep their hands to themselves." She climbed up a stack of merchandise against the wall and leaped up to join Sailor Moon on the roof.

Sailor Moon gaped at the carnage. Several men, some of them not young, were in obvious pain, holding hands or knees or writhing on the ground in pain. There was no blood that she would see, but several limbs were bent out of shape, possibly dislocated. "Don't you think you were a bit... harsh on them?"

"Pfft. They're men. They don't learn unless there's a lot of pain involved. Come on! Let's get away from these creeps."

She took off along the street. Sailor Moon followed after her, quickly catching up. "So did you see anyone - " they both startd at the same time, then stopped and giggled.

"Nothing but perverts so far," Akane said.

"Same here," Moon said. "I'm worried about Tuxedo Mask. And the others. How are we going to find them in a big place like this? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

"Nobody answered on your watch?"

"My what?"

"That," Akane said, pointing to Moon's communicator watch. "Did anyone answer?"

Moon turned beet red. "Oops. Forgot about this thing..."

Akane sweatdropped. _She is such a ditz..._

Moon flipped open her watch. "Hey! Guys! Yoo-hoo! Is anyone out there? Mercury? Venus? Jupiter? ... Mars? Anyone?"

This continued for a minute, in which Moon grew increasingly agitated. "COME ON GUYS! WAKE UP! THIS IS SAILOR MOON, I'M WITH AKANE, WE'RE STUCK IN SOME DUSTY CITY WITH CREEPY MEN AND I'M GETTING NERVOUS!"

"Don't bust a vein," Akane said. "We don't know they're even here."

"But they have to be! Or how are we going to find them if they're in Tokyo or somewhere else?"

"There has to be a portal here, doesn't there? We look for that."

Moon wasn't too sure, but it was better than nothing. "So how do we find it?"

"Well, how did you find the one in Tokyo?"

"Ranma found it."

Akane was crestfallen. "It figures. That power of his can see anything..."

"Well, I think Mercury said she could have found it, but she needed a lot of data..."

"I don't see Mercury around here, either. I guess if nothing else, we can run around town. Any youma that sees you is bound to recognize you. They can't catch us if we move fast."

"Oh, some of them can move pretty fast..." But Akane started moving again. "Hey - wait for me!"

They jumped across a narrow alley to the next rooftop, then up to a slightly higher one, then down to a low one - which broke under Akane's landing. Sailor Moon was helpless to stop herself falling in the hole.

"HUUAGHGH!" The two landed in a heap in the dim interior, both winded. They struggled to separate themselves and get up, recovering their breath. It seemed to be filled with wicker baskets.

"Are you all right?" Moon asked.

"I'm fine," Akane said. She looked up at the hole she had unwittingly made. "Shoddy buildings here..." She noticed the deep circular shadow covering one wall. "What do you know. That looks like the portal."

"Heh heh heh..." An inhumanly deep laugh came from the shadows at the other end of the room.

"Who's there!" Moon peered into the darkness, making out a hulking shape crouched under the low ceiling. She didn't like the sound of that laugh. "Show yourself!"

The owner of the voice moved forward until the light from the hole showed it to be a mobile stone statue in the form of a pharaoh. A very muscular one. "Heh heh heh... Sailor Moon. I've heard about you. You Senshi are the ones making Tokyo a battleground for us. Well, welcome to Cairo. Now DIE!"

The living statue charged. Sailor Moon reacted as she often did, dodging out of the way. Akane feared no stone, living or otherwise: she was used to pulverizing them in training. She dodged and aimed a strike at one outstretched arm, breaking it off.

"Argh! You're too strong for a human. But you're no Senshi I've heard of." The youma picked up its severed arm and casually reattached it. "I should tell Queen Beryl about you... or better yet, bring her your CORPSE!" The youma charged again, this time aiming at Akane.

The Tendo girl planted her feet for a throw. The statue was too heavy to lift from its feet, but she was able to grab the arm and get just enough leverage to redirect its charge toward the portal. "You'll have to see her without me!" she grunted as she threw.

"What-? NOOO!" the youma screamed as it entered the portal. Strangely, dust came back out, as if it had been killed.

"Woah! Did you just-?" Sailor Moon carefully approached the portal. She grabbed a wicker basket from one of the nearby stacks, finding it empty, and threw it at the portal. Pieces of it came back as if it had been thrown into a whirling fan.

"Eewwwww. That doesn't look good," Moon grimaced. "How are we going to get out of here now?"

"Beats me..." Akane shrugged. "But I'd rather stay here and watch it in case Beryl or Kunzite manages to fix it."

"You're right," Moon said. "And it beats freezing at the North Pole..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma awoke suddenly to feelings of small feet on his head and shoulders.

"YAAHH! Shoo! Shoo! Go away!" He exploded into motion, waving the birds away with his arms. They fled in a flurry of feathers, heading across the rooftops. Ranma checked his hair and clothing - good, they hadn't left any droppings yet. Thank Kami for small favors.

Now that he was fully alert, he felt at least a little refreshed. A short nap was just what he had needed. His head felt clearer than before, which might mean he could get a better view of the near-term future. He headed down to the street and toward the waterfront a few blocks away.

Once changed to female form, Ranma-chan immediately found the future to be clear enough to navigate again. Whatever interference the jumbled teleport effect had caused was now cleared up. She withdrew to another rooftop where she could expect to be undisturbed for a while and adopted a lotus position, focusing her attention inward and toward the future.

The immediate situation looked stable. The first possibility to consider was just to feel things out: laying low all night, avoiding contact - it was against her instincts and training, she could hardly flee a battle like this, but experience with casting visions had shown the value of considering actions she would never really take. Sure enough, eventually youma would appear, causing property damage and making scenes, trying to smoke her out. They would cause a fair amount of damage by dawn. But nothing irrecoverable. This would be a large scale assault; some losses had to be sustained.

She then turned to the far side of the portal. It led to the tunnel network, of which Ranma and each Senshi had a partial map, drawn up weeks earlier. It only covered the tunnels that led to the areas they were interested in, some entrances from the crater, the energy reservoirs, the throne room, some hasty notations of where the prisoners would be kept. Now Ranma needed to expand the map, getting a larger picture of the network, finding portals, their destinations, who was where, and when they would come through on their own.

Precious seconds ticked away as she sorted through the information, plans firming up. If she took too long running through tunnels or fighting youma, things fuzzed out, indicating she would be spotted. Happosai would be summoned.

Best to deal with him on the other side of the portal. There would be many youma guarding the portal - hm, not as many as would be expected. If she moved quickly, trying to avoid extended battles... ah, their forces were spread thin guarding several portals. She could just make it through one. Look at each one by one - damn, she needed pen and paper to write all this stuff down.

Well, she had a few minutes. Petty theft was nothing new to the Anything Goes school. It cost her a few minutes to fetch some; there were high rise hotels with open balcony doors. Again, Ranma got an eyeful of an amorous couple as he borrowed pad and pen from the desk. He was fairly stealthy, and they didn't seem to notice him.

More minutes spent looking at who was where, and Ranma-chan had her itinerary. She headed down to the streets again, first to hit a brothel with an ornamental front with a useful feature: metal bars. She had to transform for the extra strength to chop them away efficiently; he took five - a bit thicker than he was used to, but made of bronze, good for four shots each.

A hardware store provided a few flashlights and batteries; many parts of the tunnels were lit by some sort of magical or phosphorescent globes, but there were some pitch black areas, prime spots for ambush. Ranma would be in no danger, knowing where the patrols and ambushes would be, but the other Senshi had no lights, not expecting to need them, and might be held up for extended periods near their portals.

Last but not least, he snagged a few bites to eat from some vending machines. He retransformed to Sailor Pluto and headed to the rooftop just above the alley where the portal was at. She dragged a shipping crate up to hide in and settled in to wait.

A police siren went off nearby, receding into the distance. A youma attack, she knew. This city and a dozen others around the world were now under siege by displaced monsters who didn't know where they were or how to get back to the Dark Kingdom. Pluto grit her teeth and stayed put. It was against her instincts and training to let this one go when only she could deal with it decisively, but the greater war would not be won here.

It could, however, be won - or lost - in the next few hours. She just hoped she could contain her excitement and use her energy properly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Next: Gathering


	26. Gathering

Chapter 26: The Gathering

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Notes: Going to try additional markings to indicate different languages.

" " - standard Japanese.

"% %" - Chinese.

"$ $" - English.

Previous chapters will be modified to be consistent with this.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"All units are in position, lord Magnetite," the youma reported.

"Good. When I give the signal, tell the recon teams to go."

"Yes, lord." The runner youma, a winged type, hovered near Magnetite, not wanting to get too close to Happosai. Magnetite wanted him close by, so that the aged hentai could be ordered to wherever Sailor Pluto was found. The youma assigned to keep him company were not too thrilled about the duty themselves; Magnetite knew they could hardly wait for Pluto to be killed, so that they could finish off the old man and never have to submit to his perversions again.

The youma had been organized into teams; two observers to keep an eye on each portal, and four or five member recon teams to go through. There was no way of knowing how the youma on station in each site had fared, so any team was subject to ambush as they came through; Magnetite had gotten an earth-shaper to make crude stone humanoid forms to send through first. They would be tied to chains or ropes and pulled back after a few seconds. Any that drew fire would get ranged attacks sent back in return.

Once the far sides were deemed clear, the teams would go through and meet the attendant youma on site, then fan out to scour the cities. They were to leave no guard at the portals themselves; instead, two youma were to be present on the tunnel side - one within sight of the portal, the other farther away, around bends or hidden in niches. Ideally, the first youma would run to report any Senshi coming through; if they were killed by an attack coming through, the second would be out of range, and would be able to make the report.

He wished he could wait for the portals to be passable to humans before sending his youma through, allowing the Senshi to make the first move, offering chances to ambush and slaughter them. But Beryl was watching, her abilities now recovering as the magical chaos subsided; her crystal ball could give her the view through the eyes of any of her minions, from footsoldier to general, and she would be shifting viewpoints rapidly as the recon teams scouted. She wanted to find the Senshi before they could make any moves, and so they would have to go through at the earliest opportunity.

The instruments before him indicated the stability of the portals. When they had calmed enough, he gave the runner youma the nod. She flew quickly out of the chamber, glad to get away from Happosai.

"Soooo... when can I have my student back?" Happosai said. "It's about time he learned his place!"

"Soon," Magnetite said, settling back to wait on reports. "Very soon..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite leaned against the wall of an apartment in Moscow and waited patiently. To anyone who happened by, he would have seemed very cool and calm. In fact he was bristling at the delay, and barely managing not to show it. It would not do for him to lose his cool now of all times, just when things were at their most crucial.

He would not say, however, that he was actually desperate. Desperation was the condition of the doomed. But his position at the moment was a bit sensitive. He was the reason the Sailor Senshi had escaped from the middle of an army of youma. Beryl was not likely to be forgiving if he came back without a victory. Only the guinzuishou would do.

He dearly wished he could take the Moscow station youma with him, and the few other youma now rampaging about the city, keeping the local police busy. A personal force was always useful. But they would still be subject to Beryl's monitoring, could still be seen through her crystal ball. So could he, of course, but she would think he was dead or thrown through time and space, and would be in no hurry to try to contact him.

The station youma continued to work in her office. No doubt as soon as the portal was stable, any minute now, Beryl would send a youma through to scour the city for any Senshi. And it would want to conscript the station youma to help. Kunzite knew their day would be wasted. There were no Senshi here.

He had an idea where he could find them. Tokyo was their usual residence, but there was no guarantee they had returned there. his rival Magnetite, however, had set up a command center there with televisions tuned to various channels and electronic signal intercepts listening in on law enforcement and military bands around the world. Kunzite had viewed the setup with some distaste; it was not his own style. But now it seemed he had a use for the equipment. The local Moscow TV stations were reporting on the youma activity in the city, and he could be sure other cities were suffering the same activity, and generating the same sort of news.

Presently a thump came from the gate. Kunzite looked over to see a stone statue lying on the floor in front of the portal. A chain around its waist led back to the other side. "Not taking any chances, are we...?" he chuckled. As if the Senshi would be stupid enough to fall for such a trick.

The presence of the statue was, however, a sign the portal was now passable. There was no time to waste. Kunzite teleported directly to his own castle on the other side, then to a safe house in Tokyo, then to Magnetite's monitoring center. He switched everything on and sat back to check the news.

The show was just warming up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Pluto held her position in a box on the roof of the restaurant next to the alley where the portal was situated. The appointed time had arrived. Time to dive into the uncertainty and wing it like a Saotome.

There was a thump in the alley as the statue was put through. Pluto had to give Beryl some credit: she would have thought the evil queen would send a live youma through, they being expendable to her. Perhaps the Senshi had cut the size of her army more than they knew.

There was silence in the alley for a few minutes before a grating sound announced the statue being pulled back. Another few minutes, and the sound of footsteps as the team came through. Pluto felt relaxed in her shelter, no doubt a contrast to the youma team below, nervous that they might come under attack at any moment.

The team waited a few more minutes before moving off toward the entrance of the building Pluto was on, to recruit the local youma on station to their search effort. Pluto held her own position for several more minutes, ensuring there was no one left behind in the alley, then lifted the box, dropped down, took aim, fired, and darted through.

On the other side, she paused for a second to recover; she felt like she had caught Akane with PMS and hopped up on a dozen caffeine drinks. She shook off her discomfort and took stock of her surroundings. The tunnel was nearly as dark as the alley had been. A could of youma dust was swirling around several meters ahead. She gritted her teeth, aimed another shot, and fired, taking out the backup youma, and took off at a dead run.

After a few more minutes her watch pinged. "This is Sailor Mercury! Any Sailor Senshi, please respond!"

As expected. "Pluto here! I just got out of Bangkok. You're near... Brazil, aren't you?"

Mercury didn't sound too surprised to find Pluto knew the situation. "Just came through. Let me track you... about a mile from your position. Hold up, let me get there..."

"No. You go right, then toward center. Venus should be in the nearest portal. Then Neptune, then a couple away from there should be Moon. I'll head left and pick up Mars and Uranus."

"That will leave some portals between us. Is there anyone there?"

"No. Don't push yourself too fast, try to avoid getting seen by patrols. Pluto out." She closed her watch and pushed onward.

She reached a junction and took the Sydney branch. Again, she timed her shots, taking out two youma on guard and plunging through the portal. It was mildly easier this time; the portals were slowly settling down.

She was in a warehouse, well lit, with a puddle of gasoline on the floor in front of her. She called up into the rafters. "Yo! Nap time's over. We gotta move!"

Cologne dropped down to the floor, carrying a can of gasoline and a box of long nails. "What took you so long? I was about ready to go get a manicure."

"You knock over a hardware store like me?"

"Construction site. Just a few things that might come in handy for slowing down patrols." She indicated the pool of gas on the floor. "I was about ready to burn this place down if they sensed me. Lucky they didn't. Although, I suppose we can use it to cover our escape..." She dug a nail out of the box and prepared to strike a spark.

Pluto stayed her hand. "They'll just know we made it through. Might as well let the team here stay here and not have to deal with them. Come on."

They had to hold a minute on the other side; Cologne was hardier than any hundred-year-old had a right to be, but the passage through a still only barely stable portal took its toll. When she was ready to move again, Pluto let her lead the way. "Which way are we headed?"

"Take a left at the split. We're heading for Calcutta. Shampoo should be there."

"What about the old fool? Is he out and about yet?"

"He could start moving any time in the next few minutes. If we're lucky, and quick, we can put him off till after Cairo."

They bounced down the tunnels until they reached a youma on patrol. Pluto motioned to stay back. "This might be a few minutes," she whispered.

"Seconds count here," Cologne whispered back. "Let me handle this." She popped out of hiding and bounced straight up to the youma, throwing two nails in its eyes. While it screamed in pain and tried to pull the nails out, she doused it with gasoline and struck a spark with another nail.

The two left the burning, screaming youma behind. "Brutal," Pluto observed. "But I could have taken it out faster."

"Better to save your staves. We don't know how many shots you'll need. And it might confuse them somewhat. It will recover, but it won't know you were here, only me. I'm less of a priority."

Pluto saw she was right; Happosai wasn't any more likely to start moving than before the encounter. She renewed her pace, hoping luck would stay with them for the next few minutes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So what's the story with those Kuno guys?" Sailor Moon asked. "They didn't exactly sound like they had all their marbles or something."

"They don't," Akane said. "Tatewaki is one of those guys with an over-inflated sense of his own worth. Old samurai family, definitely not a modern zaibatsu clan, but he seems to think he's living before the Meiji Restoration. Or maybe the Tokugawas. And his sister... I don't even want to know what's up with her."

They had rearranged the wicker baskets in the storage room into stacks against the wall with the exit, leaving a narrow space for themselves to hide behind. The first youma through the portal at the far end of the room, about twenty feet away, would see a solid wall of baskets with no exit, and be easy prey for a tiara throw.

"It sounded like he has a thing for you. Is that good or bad?"

"Very bad. At the beginning of the school year, he made this stupid speech that somehow convinced about three dozen guys I was the only girl in the school worth having as a girlfriend, and said they had to fight me for the right to date me."

"Fight to date you? Well, that just sounds like he's trying to play off his competition. Could be a smart move... wait, fight YOU to date you?"

"Yup. Every morning for weeks they attacked me before the start of school. Ranma didn't even have the decency tell them to back off - he said I was up for grabs!"

"But you are, aren't you? I mean, you don't want him as your fiancee, do you?"

"But he could at least help someone who's living under the same roof!"

"Huh. I guess. But can't you just transfer to another school?"

"What's the point? Guys are guys. They'll be the same anywhere I go."

"Well, maybe not THAT bad... I know there's some good guys out there. Ones that will worship the ground you walk on..."

"Kuno does that. It makes me sick. I don't like the pushy type."

"Well, you just have to find the right guy for you. I'm sure there's some guy out there who will just be a friend for a while, and he'll get all stuttery and trembling when you say anything nice to him, and hesitate to ask the simplest things, and then you know -"

She was stopped by a thump from the portal. The pair looked out between the baskets to see a stone statue with a chain around its waist in front of the portal. They held their breath as the statue just stood there for half a minute before being pulled back.

Sailor Moon took off her tiara and prepared to throw. When not one, but five, youma appeared out of the darkness, she gave a yelp and darted out the door. Akane followed, more in exasperation than fear. "Hey! Wait for me!"

The youma couldn't miss the commotion. They were soon giving chase through the streets of Cairo, getting farther from the portal as they did so.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In Cape Town, South Africa, the recon team had to sort out a confusing situation.

"Why is this one chained up?" the leader asked. He was staring at a young male youma struggling against chains that held him to a support beam. For some reason, though the others were naked to the fur, this boy was wearing human clothes and glasses.

Like many other portals worldwide, the Cape Town portal was situated in a warehouse where staff youma could infect transitory merchandise with dark power. The four youma the recon team had found in the warehouse were all feline; their erstwhile leader was a dark-furred female named Pumara. "This is the idiot who got most of my team killed. He said one of the Senshi would be afraid of us!"

"Figures, with a name like 'mouse'. Fine name for a CAT!" a white-furred girl, Angora, said.

"That's 'Mousse'," the boy said. "Pronounced 'moose.' And he WAS afraid of cats, last I saw of him."

"Well, you were wrong. And now you'll have to answer to Queen Beryl."

"That will have to wait," the recon youma said. "Our orders are clear. All youma found on site must join the search. That means him too. Release him."

"Don't tell me you're willing to trust this bozo?"

"Hardly. He will be with me. I will make sure he stays in line." He got into Mousse's face. "If we DO find Senshi, I want you on point. You ARE clearly the most expendable one here."

"Don't worry," Mousse said as he was freed from his chains. "I can handle any of them alone. But you're welcome to help."

The team commander was impressed the boy's spirit seemed undamped by failure. Pity he would likely end up dust when Beryl was through with him. "Very well. Even if you survive you will still have to face Beryl's judgement. For now we will search the city and see if any Senshi are active. If not, we will try to draw them out by attacking the humans openly. The Queen or General Magnetite may order us to move at any time if the Senshi are found elsewhere. Be ready for anything. Now MOVE!"

The group headed out into the immediate neighborhood, forming a police line at one-block intervals, with the recon leader in the center, Mousse just ahead of him, always in sight and reach. Their one flying member was sent to a search pattern, at an altitude hopefully out of reach of any Senshi attacks.

"Shouldn't we leave someone to watch the portal in case one of the Senshi slip through?" Mousse asked as he leaped an alley.

"I'm not some low-grade youma," the commander said. "You won't be getting away from me that easily. The portals are being watched by two sentries on the other side."

"Only two? Good. Then I should have no problem." With that, he produced a smoke bomb from his clothes and threw it at the commander's feet.

As the commander had noted, he wasn't stupid. He immediately backpedaled and scanned the area for the boy, assuming he was headed straight for the portal. He was, but the commander never caught up with him: the next item Mousse produced with his Hidden Weapons mastery was a bolo. He made good use of the time the commander spent disentangling his feet.

By the time he was able to pursue, the line of youma had come to a halt. His lieutenant, covering his immediate right, had come to his side. "Should we go after him?"

"Don't bother. Let Beryl finish him. We have our own job to do."

"He was a new recruit, wasn't he?"

"He just washed out. Some people just aren't worth the trouble."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"SUPREME THUNDER!" Another youma screamed and vanished into a cloud of dust. Jupiter wiped sweat from her brow and looked warily around. "Is that all of them?"

Ryoga maintained his stance for a moment, then began pulling some of his chi-stiffened bandannas from nearby walls. "For the moment, anyhow. I guess they were really active in this city."

Ryoga hadn't been the only one to know what a literal bolt from the blue meant. It seemed like every youma in the city had been attracted to them now. They had dispatched four so far.

"It would help if any of them knew where the nearest portal was," Ryoga seethed. "You'd think one of them would have some idea."

Their battles with the youma had carried them some distance across the city; police sirens were wailing in the distance, and military trucks had started to appear. The street Jupiter and Ryoga were on was clear at the moment, but the authorities would be moving in soon once it was clear the fighting was done. Jupiter looked down the street, where a barricade was going up some blocks away. "You want to talk to these guys? Find out where we are?"

"I can ask for directions to an embassy in 18 languages," Ryoga said. "No African ones, though. Maybe..." He looked up and down the street, settling on a drug store. "Let's see what the magazines say." He led the way there.

There were only a few magazines and newspapers, in strange languages. "This one is in Arabic," Ryoga said, holding one newspaper. "The date is today's. We haven't gone back in time, at least. We're in someplace called Nairobi."

"Thank Ranma for that, I guess," Jupiter said.

"Feh. I wouldn't go thanking him yet. He's the reason we're here!"

"That's a fine attitude toward someone who basically fixed everything wrong with your life! You could show a little gratitude!"

Ryoga shook his head as if to clear it. He headed back out into the street and began walking toward the barricade. "Aaaarrrghh! I don't even know what to think of him anymore. My hatred of him kept me going for three years. Now he wants to just forgive and forget? A man's pride isn't fixed so easily."

"Oh, yeah. You guys and your macho posturing. I guess you have to get it out of your system. I don't think you'll beat him, though. He's trained all his life to be the best. Is that what you were doing before you met him?"

Ryoga scowled. "I was just trying to get by. My family curse made my life pretty tough. I did hold my own with him."

"Well, good luck with him. I just don't think he's worth twisting yourself in a knot over. Make it a friendly rivalry."

He started to reply, but the words died in his mouth as he was a flying shape above the barricade. The shape seemed humanoid, but with insectile wings. "Looks like we didn't get them all after all."

The youma started to fly off away from them. Jupiter tried to charge up a bolt, but it picked up speed too fast and outranged her. She cursed under her breath. "There would have to be one with some sense."

"Unless it's got friends. We better be ready for another fight."

"Let's stay away from those guys," Jupiter said, gesturing at the police. "I don't want them getting hurt."

They waited for several minutes. A man in green military fatigues broke from the ranks of police and tried to shout something at them as he got closer. Neither of them could understand him. He shouted something else. "That sounds like English," Ryoga said. He shouted back at the officer: "$I am Japanese! Where is the embassy?$"

The officer seemed dumbfounded for a moment. He got in a short conversation with Ryoga, and ended up gesturing in one direction.

"He asked if we needed help. I asked him which way that thing went. I'm trying to get us a jeep to follow it."

They were still waiting for a response on it when Ryoga suddenly rushed Jupiter, pulling her to one side. She yelped in surprise just as something whooshed by her from behind. Suddenly there were darts stuck in the street.

They looked around at the rooftops. There were at least five youma visible, including the flyer. The one that had fired the darts - porcupine quills, in fact - sent another volley as the rest leapt at the two.

The dance began, the youma all having ranged attacks, throwing quills, bombs, darts, shards of crystal, a cloud of spores from the flyer. Jupiter and Ryoga had to stay constantly on the move. Ryoga opened his steel umbrella, providing some degree of protection, but they were surrounded.

"We have to get to cover!" Jupiter said. "I can't get a shot off!"

"There!" Ryoga tried heading toward the barricade, but the youma team was smarter and more coordinated than usual, shifting fire to cut them off.

"No good!" Jupiter said. "We have to get inside! Over there!" She pointed at the nearest shop. They tried to move that way too, but the youma shifted too fast again.

"Dammit! If only I could get a moment!" Jupiter was becoming more frustrated but the second. These things were not giving them a moment to breathe.

"Maybe I can do something!" Ryoga pulled a few bandannas from his head and threw them at the youma. Three were injured, giving the pair time to make it to the store.

The police and military, thus far watching the battle as if it were a football game, now had a clear street. They opened up with everything from pistols to rocket launchers. The youma were briefly caught off guard and forced to take cover. This only bought a few seconds, of course, just long enough to reform their bodies whole, closing up slashes and holes. Then they shifted focus to the police.

Something snapped in Jupiter as she looked on from the store window. She didn't think about the fact that these were police and army personnel, that dealing with danger was their job; to her they were humans, innocent bystanders, with no means to defeat the youma on their own. Her rage rose, and new power welled up from inside.

"We've got to take the pressure off them!" Ryoga said. "Can you get a shot now?"

"Oh, I can get a shot," Jupiter said. "I've got their pressure right here." New words came almost unbidden to her lips. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" The energy formed in her hands, shaped quickly into a ball, in the shape of an American-style football. She threw it underhand toward the knot of youma now harrying the human defensive line. The energy tore into them, disintegrating two of them outright. The others were stunned and vulnerable. They humans quickly gained the upper hand, and only one managed to get away.

Jupiter started toward the barricade, but Ryoga grabbed her arm and tugged her to follow him. "Hey! We've got to see if they need help! Some of them might be hurt!"

"They have medics," Ryoga said. "We have to follow the last one and see if it knows a way out of here."

"I guess you're right," Jupiter said, not happy with the situation, but unable to deny the truth of it. She followed Ryoga as he tracked the last youma.

They followed it several blocks until it ended up in a storehouse. Inside was a deep shadow on one wall.

"Jackpot," Ryoga said. "That's the portal. Let's get back to the others."

"Are you sure?" Jupiter wondered. "What if that thing has friends waiting for it on the other side?"

"Only one way to know for sure. But we can be careful..." He took off another few bandannas and threw them through the portal.

"Yeah, we can," Jupiter agreed. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" She threw her own ball of energy into the portal, hoping it gave a nasty surprise to anyone on the other side. And with that, the two rushed through to rejoin the main battle.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Venus whistled idly and kicked at the leggings of her chair. "This is a fine way to treat the heroes of the city, wouldn't you say?"

"Waste no thought on these peasants," Tatewaki Kuno replied calmly. "They know not of our struggles."

"Well, they SHOULD know something," Venus said. Hopefully they were contacting the Interpol number she had given them and establishing they were for real. In fact, if they and the other Senshi had been scattered over the world, the youma in the area had gone with them, so Interpol should be busy all over, and would be looking for her. She could hardly wait to get back to the action. This police station waiting room was about the most unexciting place in the world right now.

The bounty hunter, Rally, wandered over, waiting for the cops to have time to decide whether she should be paid a fee for helping take down the youma. "$So, how do you guys like Chicago?$"

"$Kinda disappointing, to be honest,$" Venus said. "$I imagined it was more like gangsters and shoot-em-ups and such. But I guess that was a long time ago, wasn't it?$"

"$Actually, it's like that again these day. Only the gangsters are black instead of Italian, and the speakeasies are rave parties, and the Tommy guns are now MAC-10s, and the drugs of choice are a little different. But yeah, not so different.$"

"$Really? Maybe I ought to come back here sometime...$"

Detective Coleman then came through the inner door. "$Looks like things aren't going so well down at the warehouse,$" he said, fixing his gaze on the two Japanese kids. "$A whole bunch of those monsters just showed up. They need you ASAP.$"

Venus perked up immediately. "$A bunch? Did they come through that black area?$"

"$Looks like it. Maybe it was just booby trapped or something. There's a firefight going on there now, the guys we got watching it are trying to keep the new guys pinned down.$"

Venus smiled. "$Let's not keep them waiting.$"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Just outside the gates of Ohtori Academy, a group of five varied youma stood ready. The leader, pale and nearly featureless, looked around for traps. "Nothing I can see from here," it said. "Spread out and keep out of sight. She generally doesn't do anything to hostile, but she isn't likely to receive our message well. Be ready for anything."

The leader walked calmly onto the campus as its team fanned out and kept to the shadows, heading for higher floors as they entered the main building. The pale youma stopped in the middle of the atrium under the central tower and called out, "Anthy Himemiya! I come with a message."

The feminine voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I am still not interested in your queen's offer. I prefer to remain here."

"The terms are a little different this time. Queen Beryl has run out of patience. Remaining with your beloved brother is not an option. You will come with us or die."

"That sounds very impolite. I might almost think Beryl-san were desperate. Is there some problem?"

"Beryl will explain the situation to you when you arrive. Will you come or not?"

"I'm sorry, youma-san. I am afraid I will be remaining here. And you will not be going anywhere, either."

"As if you could stop us." The youma exerted itself, trying to move, only to find it was trapped in place.

"What is the matter? Aren't you going to come after me?"

"Come down here! My team, down here!"

The other four youma entered the atrium, carefully keeping their distance from their paralyzed leader. "It's a holding circle," one of them pronounced, examining the floor. "Pathetic." It scraped at the floor with its foot, rubbing out part of the pattern. The leader began to move again.

There was sudden movement from the shadows in the second floor balcony. A new voice shouted, "Akuryou Taisan!" Wards flew down, holding the group in place before any of them could react.

"What's this?" The lead youma was incredulous. A new factor? It could only be one of the Senshi. "You've got a Senshi here! Hand her over and we will consider your loyalty to be demonstrated."

"I wonder how Beryl-san will take this demonstration, then?" Anthy called. "Mars?"

"Gladly." Sailor Mars came down the spiral stairs from the balcony and took up a calculated position. "Let's see if I can do this..." She concentrated on the image, trying to apply what Anthy had explained to her. "BURNING MANDALA!"

The fire arose from her fingers, as always, but instead of shooting it forth in a simple blast, she drew it in a circle, where it fired off several circles of flame toward the trapped youma. In seconds, all were burned to ash.

"That's that," Mars said. "Will you be okay here? Beryl may send more after these don't report in."

"If she's busy looking for you and your friends, she won't worry about me," Anthy said, coming down the stairs herself. "I should be safe here, if you and Sailor Moon are able to win. And if you lose, well, it would have been the same for me anyways."

"I'll want to visit again someday, when I have time," Mars said. "Good luck."

Ten minutes later Mars had followed the directions Anthy had given to a small bakery in the town. The portal was in a back room. There was no one on guard outside.

"Right, then." Mars said a short prayer, then dove into the blackness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Another youma disappeared in a splash.

Ukyo pumped her fist. "Yes!" She looked to Katrina. "Just one more, wasn't there?"

Katrina had just been on her radio. "In Chelsea. Looks like two, actually. They're bickering or fighting right now. If we're lucky one may finish the other off."

"Let's hope so," Ukyo said as they all got back into Katrina's police car. A police van with a SWAT team stayed behind to keep the battle area secure while a forensics team scoured it.

"Headquarters in Paris was talking about these things showing up all over the place in the last few hours. I don't suppose you have a faster way to the Continent than a jet?"

"I would need my teammates," Neptune said. "And Ukyo-san would still have to go by jet. Unless that portal stops killing things that try to go through..."

"Well, then, it looks like you may have to wait here a while as we sort things out. You can rest up at our London office for a bit."

"I could use the sleep. And a chance to warm up. We've been fighting for hours, at least. Mostly in the cold."

"So how is Minako-chan? Last I saw of her, she was going into a warehouse that exploded on her. How did she survive?"

Ukyo and Neptune looked dumbfounded. "That sounds like it came right out of a movie," Ukyo said. "She hasn't told us anything about that. She only just joined us a couple of weeks ago."

"Then you guys haven't been with the team for long?"

"I awoke to my Senshi powers just before Venus joined us," Neptune said. "Ukyo-san has been working with them a bit longer, I think?" She gave a questioning look at Ukyo.

"Not too closely, actually," Ukyo admitted with a blush, "but I know what's been going on with them. They're all around Minako's age, real kids. But when they get into a fight, they tend to do all right. Ranma's helped, he makes all the plans and scouts things out ahead of time."

"Ranma? Is that the name of the tuxedo-wearing guy that's been seen with them?"

"No, that's Sailor Moon's boyfriend. They were lovers in a past life, I think. Ranma is *my* boyfriend."

"And Sailor Pluto," Neptune added.

"Oh? Not all of the Senshi are girls?" Katrina asked.

Ukyo sweatdropped. Why did Neptune have to mention this? "Ummm... well, technically they are... it's kinda complicated..." She gave Neptune a glare to warn her not to volunteer any more information.

"So he's a special case?"

"Yeah, that's it." Ukyo hoped Katrina would leave it at that.

Luckily for her, she would. "What about you?" the Interpol agent shifted her attention to Neptune. "Any nice young boys you're dating? Or just playing along?"

Now it was Neptune's turn to blush. "Not so far," she said. "But I just know the right person is nearby..."

"Would this also be someone from your past life?" Katrina teased.

Neptune seemed uncomfortable with this. "I'm... not sure, really... I'm still sorting through my memories... I don't recall all that much so far, to tell the truth..."

She was saved from further explanation by their arrival at the battle site. A crowd had gathered outside a toy store, with local police blocking the entrance. Katrina immediately addressed the lieutenant in charge. "What's the situation?"

"They started fighting in a clothing store up the street," he said, "made a right mess of the place. One of them was in a leotard, has some kind of killer laugh attack. Looks a bit like a gymnast, actually. She grabbed a coat and led the other one down here, said there was some 'tools of the trade' she could use."

Within a few minutes, Katrina went in, followed by Ukyo, then Neptune. The Interpol officer stayed on the floor, while the martial artist and Senshi took to the tops of the tall racks of toys, amid large boxed items.

There was activity near the back of the store. One whole rack had been pushed over. One of the youma seemed to be attacking the other, throwing what seemed to be bowling balls. "Stand still, dammit!"

"OH HO HOHOHOHOHO! You're hopelessly slow and clumsy. You hardly even stack up to my usual class of opponent." A ring similar to a hula hoop flew at the first youma's head. It dodged, cursing.

Ukyo grumbled. "SHE'S here? Gahh. I was hoping she would end up alone in Timbuktu or somewhere..." She mouthed to Katrina "ONLY ONE", then motioned to Neptune to move into position.

"This is starting to bore me," Kodachi said. "Perhaps I should keep your head parted from your shoulders this time. Unless you wish to tell me how to get out of this city? I will admit London does have its charms, but no place is as charming as wherever my dear Ryoga-sama is."

"How about I smash YOUR head in?" The youma summoned another bowling ball and threw, only to have Kodachi easily dodge.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune's shot caught the youma completely off guard. It didn't even have time to scream.

Kodachi gave the new arrivals a severely annoyed look. "Now what did you have to do that for? that one could have told us where the portal out of this city is! Now I will be forced to call Sasuke to arrange a plane ticket."

"We got the portal under guard," Ukyo said. She nodded toward the pile of youma dust. "That one probably got thrown here with us. It wouldn't have known any more than we did."

"You know this youma?" Katrina asked.

"She's not actually a youma," Ukyo said. "Though frankly, if I'd only just met her, I wouldn't know the difference myself..."

"You're one to talk about not recognizing appearances. If I didn't know otherwise I should think the girls of your school were justified in pining after you."

"Now this sounds like an interesting story," Katrina said. "You guys will have to tell me more on our way back to headquarters..." She was suddenly interrupted by her radio. The Interpol agent's eyes went wide as she heard the report. "Looks like that portal in the garage is working again," she said when she had finished. "A bunch of monsters just came through."

"Ooooh-kay," Ukyo said coolly. "That sounds like WE could get back through. How many are we talking here?"

"They said four or five. They're keeping the place tear gassed and locked down. Just waiting on you."

"Four or five at once? This may be a bit much for us to handle..." Neptune said with fear in her voice.

"Piece of cake!" Ukyo said. "We've got their number now. We'll get through."

"We have numbers on our side, at least over here," Katrina observed. "What about when you get to the North Pole? For all you know, they may still have most of their army set up there."

Ukyo sighed. "One disaster at a time..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Haruka Tenoh advanced cautiously down the street. She was attired a bit out of season, given the temperatures here. No one seemed to give her a glance. Maybe they thought she had just been skiing in the Himalayas or something.

She had arrived in the middle of a shantytown, and quickly found Shampoo was also in the area - apparently they had landed less than a mile apart. Haruka had been rather annoyed at being stuck in a slum, it wasn't her type of place at all, but she supposed heroes often had to operate in dirty environments, preferring to keep the action - and possibility of property damage - away from the high-rent districts. A small sacrifice to duty.

Shampoo, being a girl of no pretensions, had seemed much more comfortable here. She had taken to picking through trash for newspapers and any other written or printed material for information. It had been futile; in the slums, there were many languages spoken, but few from beyond India. No Western or Chinese dialects that they could recognize.

She had led them to the downtown area, where she suspected there would be a more cosmopolitan crowd. She was right: there were a good many Westerners and East Asians here, workers for foreign companies and multinationals, business travellers and tourists. She moved casually through the crowd, trying to discreetly steal glances at newspapers, magazines, and blaring TVs.

She walked down one street, up another, making a circuit of a few blocks, going into a department store at one point, absorbing information as she went. It was slow going, but she eventually got an idea where they were and what was happening. She completed her circuit at the alley where Shampoo was still hiding.

"Where we is?" The Amazon warrior was still dressed up as Sailor Moon. With no magical transformation, she could not easily blend in with the crowds. Haruka was more worried about looking silly than any youma that might be attracted. Sailor Uranus would finish them off in one shot.

"I think we're in Calcutta. All the TVs are showing some police actions in other countries - Chicago, London, Paris, Moscow, probably a few others. Has to be youma activity. I think it's only a matter of time before they show up here."

"They come here, they die." Shampoo hefted her sword. She wished it had some magic in it, like the one boy - Kuno, she thought he was called - who had joined them for this mission.

Haruka started thinking out loud. "I don't like the idea of searching the city on foot. Rather be on a bike or car. But if the Dark Kingdom is starting to attack openly everywhere, we can't afford to waste time. Though I'm sure the cops will find them first, they might start putting out APBs any time..."

"Shampoo go look." The Amazon warrior simply took off out to the street.

Haurka cursed, then transformed and followed. So rash and instinctive, a simple mountain girl, not considering the delicacy of the situation. But was she really? She was well trained as a warrior, and of late, experienced; she SHOULD have the better judgement of them. Perhaps she knew their situation was really that simple: stay and wait for the youma to make noise, or go and find them, and spare the civilians some grief.

They made their way up and down streets, covering the built-up districts, then headed outward, taking to the rooftops as the buildings got lower. They had been looking for perhaps ten minutes when Uranus saw something in the sky, too big to be a bird, too small for a light plane. It was moving in a slow arc across their own direction of travel, then curved toward their right.

Uranus put on a burst of speed to catch up to Shampoo and pointed. "Up there! I think that's one!"

They paused and held their ground as the winged youma curved about them, then dropped low and flew closer, coming within a block. Uranus started casting a World Shaking, but the flyer quickly turned away.

"We follow!" Shampoo took off again, heading after the youma. She asked Uranus as they ran, "You no shoot?"

"Too far! It would dodge!"

"Can move shot?"

Move shot? "You mean... like a guided missile? I just got these powers lately, I haven't had time to practice!"

"Can try now!"

Uranus stopped at their next roof landing. "Heh. Why not? Here goes. WORLD... SHAKING!"

The ball of golden energy curved away, but not as fast as the youma. Uranus guessed it would take some days or weeks of work to be able to intercept a moving target at any range. "No good," she told the Chinese girl. "Just have to get closer." She put on a burst of speed after the flyer, trying to close the gap.

They ended up back near the shantytown they had first landed in. The flyer dropped low, then began circling. By the time they had caught up to it, they could see it had friends: it was now one of a group of five youma of various types and colors, spread out across the roofs.

"So it's true," the center youma said. "Sailor Moon is here. You'll be coming with us. Queen Beryl has plans for you..."

Shampoo's disguise was still working, it seemed. "In name of moon, you die!" She brandished her sword and charged.

The youma scattered, the flyer heading up, the footsoldiers, heading away, then curving. Uranus drew a bead on one. "WORLD SHAKING!" Her target dodged, the shot barely missing and dissipating far downrange. She then had to dodge return fire, some sort of summoned crystals, and fired again, this time near the youma's feet. The shanty it was standing on was destroyed, and the residents probably made quite angry, but it was vulnerable to a follow-up shot. One down.

Then she heard Shampoo's cry, and the leader's laughter, and saw the flyer had swooped down and grabbed the Amazon warrior like a bird on its prey. Shampoo was held by the back of her costume, unable to swivel around for a cut, and then her sword was batted out of her hands, and the youma was flying off.

Uranus made to follow her, but the remaining three youma blocked her way. "Beryl only wants her alive," the leader said. "Any other Senshi we are free to kill."

Uranus cursed again. "Three on one. You guys are gonna pay for slowing me down."

Pay they did. But they gained their comrade a good five minutes. As their dust settled, Uranus headed for where she had seen Shampoo's captor enter one of the shanties, presuming it to be the portal, and hoping she could catch up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Any student of military history will explain that information is one of the keys to warfare. Among many other shortcomings as a leader was Beryl's overreliance on one particular means of gathering information: her crystal ball. A powerful tool for magical scrying, but it had its limitations. She had spent many fruitless months, for example, trying to dredge up the location of the guinzuishou in a wide-cast search before remembering it had been broken up into the Rainbow Crystals.

It was serving her better now. She was only calling on it to do something it had no problems doing, something that could not be blocked: looking through the eyes of her youma. Like a channel-surfing couch potato, she shifted her point of view quickly from one team to the next every few seconds, in hopes of not missing anything.

Early reports were thoroughly boring. Paris, Rome, Sao Paolo, Sydney, Bangkok, so many places showed no immediate action. The teams were not surprised at their arrival, and spread out uncontested.

Chicago and London were more interesting; the teams there had run into police ambushes. London she might have expected, given Sailor V's activity earlier in the year, but there should be no reason for the locals in Chicago to suspect anything. Perhaps the situation bore monitoring.

Cairo was the jackpot. Sailor Moon turned out to be right there at the portal. for all of a few seconds. Of course the little coward ran immediately. The team was giving chase. Ordinarily she would be chastising them for letting their quarry get away, but this time it didn't matter. There was really only one place she could go. She barked an order to a runner to move a response team to the Cairo portal to be ready to receive the fleeing Senshi when she came through.

Things got more interesting when another "Sailor Moon" was sighted in Calcutta. Ah yes. One of them was a decoy. No matter. "Take them both," she ordered.

With her survey of the away teams complete, there had been enough time for any wily Senshi to try to slip into portals behind them. She began rotating through the tunnel watchers; again, most had nothing to report. The Sao Paolo tunnel had something - it was obscured by fog.

"That will be Sailor Mercury," Magnetite guessed. "I will vector a patrol."

Other patrols were sent to cover Bangkok and Sydney; the youma stationed at those portals could not be found, which could only mean they were dead. She quickly checked patrols nearby to see if any Senshi were loose in the tunnels. She found one on the way from Bangkok to Calcutta - only a brief glimpse, cut short by an onrushing ball of purple energy, but enough to know who she was dealing with.

"Magnetite. The one you were looking for, with the staff. She is heading for Calcutta."

"Excellent." Magnetite turned to Happosai, and pointed out a position on their map. "It seems your student is there."

"Oh, goody!" Happosai began bounding off. "Ranma! You won't get out of your training like your worthless father! I'll teach you the TRUE way of the Anything-Goes School!"

Magnetite smiled. The little pervert could keep Sailor Pluto occupied for a while, but experience had shown she would get free just long enough to cause trouble. She was too dangerous to be allowed to live. He would have youma waiting to finish off master and student when they had weakened each other.

Things were starting to get under control at last.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Here we are," Pluto said. "Calcutta." With magically enhanced strength, speed, and stamina in Senshi form, moving as fast as the twisting tunnels would allow, and carrying Cologne on her shoulders, she wasn't even breathing hard.

Cologne hopped down from her shoulders. Unlike the Bangkok and Sydney portals, which entered directly into tunnels, the Calcutta portal was in a small room with another exit. The ancient Amazon matriarch peered down the other tunnel. "Odd. I thought I saw something come from the portal and go down this way."

"Praobably a runner reporting Uranus is there," Pluto said. "Come on. Her and Shampoo should be close to the portal there."

"What about the panty thief? Has he started moving yet?"

Pluto peered into the darkness for a few seconds, then made a face. "Looks like it. I think we can stay just ahead of him all the way to Cairo."

"Maybe I can delay him a bit. Which way will he come from?"

"The way we just came." Pluto chuckled. "I guess if anyone can even slow him down, it's you."

"Actually, any of us could do it, if you're willing to get your hands a little dirty." She still had the box of nails raided from a construction site in Sydney; she now pulled out a nail and leapt up to jab at the roof of the tunnel, hitting a pair of Breaking Point strikes to bring the ceiling down.

Pluto stood there momentarily agape. "Yeah, that might do it..." She shouted as if she could make herself heard through the pile. "SEE YOU IN A BIT! DON'T DO ANYTHING SILLY!"

There was no word from the other side. Futures light and dark danced around her, inducing a storm of feelings, of hope and of impending doom. She followed her training, stifled them, and dove into Calcutta.

The arrival point could not generously be described as a building; Pluto could only call it a shack, cobbled together from odd bits of particle board and aluminum sheets. She keyed her communicator and was about to call shout out to Uranus when the other Senshi landed in the street in front of the door.

"Pluto! Thank Kami! Did it go in there?"

"Did what? A youma? We thought we just missed one. I wouldn't worry, Beryl probably knows we're running around but we can keep her guessing where we are if we move quickly." She looked around the street. "Where's Shampoo? She should be with you."

"That youma had her! That stupid costume of hers. They thought she was Sailor Moon, they wanted her alive."

"Dammit!" Pluto put a hand over her face, then started running down the tunnel, Uranus following. "We can't go after her. We're on a tight schedule. The real Sailor Moon needs us in Cairo. I wouldn't worry. When they see she's not the real one they'll put her in with my family. We'll catch up with her later."

"Can't you track her?"

"Not right now. All kinds of stuff happening, too much interference. We just gotta do what we can do, and pray."

Pluto's watch chirped. "This is Sailor Venus! I just got in from Chicago! Is anyone else here?"

"Sailor Mercury here. I'm coming up from Sao Paolo. Try to stay where you are and I'll meet you in about five minutes."

"Sailor Neptune here, with Kuonji-san. We're at the London portal. My map doesn't cover this area. Which way should we head?"

"This is Sailor Mars, in the Japan area. My map covers part of this area. Should I go in deeper or come across to someone?"

"This is Jupiter, with Ryoga, out of Africa. We're lost. Anybody wanna come pick us up?"

Mercury chimed in again. "Pluto, are you still there? What can you see?"

Crunch time. Pluto didn't have time to deal with this, and the others would do just fine without her for a few minutes. She hit her all-call. "Everyone who just got in, stay where you are. Mercury, keep heading toward Venus, then move over to Neptune and keep moving from there. You can work it out. I don't have time for a detailed look, I'll get back to you in a few minutes."

It would be a busy few minutes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shampoo struggled in futility against her captor. It held her with inhuman strength, its talons like steel. She could bend mild steels, if she could get the proper leverage, but the youma had her by the shoulders. She wished she had brought a dagger to throw in its eye.

It carried her along tunnels sometimes too black for human eyes. It was in one of these stretches that it stopped, quite suddenly. "Out of my way. I have someone the Queen wants to see immediately."

There was someone blocking their path. Someone who sniffed the air. Someone with a very familiar voice. "No, she doesn't. That's a decoy. I'll take her off your hands."

"The Queen will decide what to do with her. Move or suffer."

A sound of steel being drawn, quick motions by the youma holding her, then it just seemed to come apart, the legs falling away. Strong, furry arms held her. "%Don't worry, Shampoo. You're safe. They won't hurt you.%"

"%Mousse? But... this can't be you... all furry...%"

"%Shh. Let's go somewhere safe. Somewhere they won't find us.%"

More movement through the dark. This time she could struggle against him. She didn't. She had to ask, had to hear it from his lips. Before she did what had to be done.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kunzite scanned through the channels with amusement as the human world scrambled to come to grips with the sudden widespread youma activity. So many youma displaced by Pluto's stunt, operating without orders, doing whatever came to mind. A building closed off in Los Angeles, a commuter train near Paris, and entire street lying unconscious in Mexico City. They had not been prepped and briefed for field duty; no one had told them to keep a low profile.

No doubt some who did, in fact, have field experience were out there, keeping out of sight, perhaps gathering energy as long as they could do it quietly. On the other hand, those who had no idea how to get back to the Dark Kingdom lands and no powers for directly gathering energy were causing destruction, making spectacles, just to draw attention and get someone sent to pick them up.

Would Beryl care about any of this? Surely not about the property destruction. She might want to gather the lost youma to bolster her numbers, but with final victory close at hand, she would be most interested on managing what she had. The Sailor Senshi were out there, in no better circumstances than the youma. And now Beryl would send what she had left to hunt the cursed Senshi down.

The team in Chicago did not seem to be having much luck. They were penned in by police, who had apparently expected them. Ah, there was a live shot showing Sailor Venus approaching the portal site. One possible companion, a boy in hakama, not a Senshi. There was a chance the team in the warehouse was about to finish her career at last.

Another Senshi in London, also alone, or with only human companions. This looked to be one of the new ones, with unknown powers. Well, as long as she was alone, Beryl would be able to field enough youma to overwhelm her. Though it would be less costly if they had had time to plan their moves and assign youma with special powers to the teams. But often events forced one's hand.

A new report came in from Cairo, described as "demons running through the city chasing after someone." Footage showed a pair of figures... ah, one of them looked like Sailor Moon. Kunzite was not about to be fooled by a decoy again, not after the debacle at the store in Tokyo. He let the tape machines record the full report and rewound, looking carefully at the image.

It was her. The image was too indistinct and distant to make out her face, but he knew how she moved. There was real terror in her strides. The decoy had seemed fearless, and used conventional weapons, like swords. This one moved like the Sailor Moon his fellow generals had faced.

Satisfied he had his quarry, he teleported away. The guinzuishou would not slip through his fingers this time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Happosai bounced down a tunnel heading for the Middle East portals, passing Cologne just outside a junction room. She simply pogoed her way on past him. "Good day, Happi."

The ancient pervert stopped and turned around. "Cologne? Aren't you going to stop me?"

"It looks like I have. Unless you want to keep going the way you were."

Happosai scowled and followed after the Amazon matriarch as she continued down the tunnel. "I mean by DOING something!"

"Like what?"

"Fighting me!"

"Not just now." She began to whistle idly as she went along.

More suspicious than ever, Happosai was not about to keep going his original way. "What's ahead? Ranma? Can't be just him, he still can't beat me when I really try. And this time I am REALLY going to try!"

"As you wish." She seemed determined to show no concern.

Happosai scowled again and kept following. "Tell me. They have them all up there, do they? Or is it Akane? Shampoo? The Kuonji girl? I can handle them all at once if I have to!"

"You don't have to."

"Hmmmm. Well, if that's the way you want to be, fine! I'll just take them all on!" He continued bounding on his original course. Cologne kept calmly moving the other way.

She finally stopped, looked up and down the tunnel, and examined the ceiling carefully. "I suppose this will be good." She held an industrial nail in one hand and used it to execute Breaking Point strikes at two points in the ceiling, bringing it down and blocking the tunnel. She coughed and waved dust away.

When she got back to the junction room at the crossing point of three tunnels, Happosai came running out of the tunnel ahead. "So, you collapsed it. Hrmph. I suppose you've done the same for these other ones?"

"Well, I WAS getting around to them..."

"Hah! Too slow! Some job you did. You should have stayed with Ranma." He began humming happily and went down a different tunnel.

Cologne sat in the center of the room and began to meditate. She sensed much energy flowing around here, including chi energy. The Dark Kingdom had been gathering it from across the world for months, and apparently their reservoir was leaky. Their loss, Cologne's gain. She began a chant, drawing energy into herself, boosting her strength and endurance several fold.

Happosai came and went down every tunnel, eventually returning with an annoyed look. "So. You DID get them all. Well, you may have slowed me down, but it's going to take more than that to stop me."

He spent several minutes roaming around through the chamber and tunnels, probing for weak spots. Finding none, he spent several minutes trying to remove the debris blocking one tunnel, only to give up as he found he was using up too much energy. Without access to nubile flesh to restore himself, he would not have enough to confront Ranma. He returned to Cologne in the central chamber. "Oh, okay. I give up. I know when I'm beaten. I suppose you'll want a promise to give up on Ranma and let you train him. Is there any chance we could work out a deal? Maybe you get him every Tuesday?"

Cologne said nothing, continuing her chanting. "Hmmm. I can see you're going to be a tough nut to crack. Maybe if I cut back on the panty raids?" the old pervert offered. No response. "All right. I'll give up all the trinkets I took from you all those years ago."

Still nothing. By now he had run out of patience. He interrupted her chanting with a solid thwack on the head. "Dammit, you dried-up old bat! I haven't got all day! I can promise you I'll be good!"

Cologne bonked him back. "As if a promise from you could ever mean anything. You don't have the discipline to keep it. We're two old people who are what we are. Good and evil. There can only be one end to this."

"Exactly!" Happosai beamed. "The good guy always wins! So I guess that means YOU should give up and accede to my inevitable victory!"

BONK. "I didn't say YOU were the good one!"

Happosai rubbed his forehead. "Well, I can't see that I'm all that bad. I'm just an old man who wants to enjoy a few pleasures in life in my fading years and see that my legacy is secure in my apprentice."

"Your legacy is a school known for its master and its students. It mystifies me how Soun Tendo is able to call his practice a branch of your school. He would be much better off changing the name and getting distance from the Anything-Goes reputation."

"Well, look at your legacy! A bunch of humorless old crones taking all the fun out of life! The way you misguide your girls into resisting the charms of men... it's absolutely criminal!"

"My legacy will be stopping you from interfering with the Sailor Senshi. Your 'harmless fun' would ensure the victory of the Dark Kingdom. And I don't expect you to understand a people that has actual STANDARDS for the men in their lives." She sighed heavily. She had about as much energy as she could contain, anyway. "I believe there's nothing more to say. If you want out of here, it will have to be over my dead body."

"Maybe not," Happosai said, pulling out an enormous Happo Fire Burst bomb - only to have Cologne swipe it with a hand, chi-claws extending beyond her fingers, shredding the wrappings and leaving a pile of gunpowder all over the floor.

Happosai spluttered and wiped gunpowder from his face. "I suppose you're right. Well, then, if that's what it takes..."

The Master of the Anything-Goes School leapt at the Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, and the duel of masters began.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In Cairo, Akane Tendo and Sailor Moon were trying to move nonchalantly through the crowd in stolen burqas. The flying youma passing above them kept the pair on edge.

They nearly jumped out of their burqas, and their skins, when Moon's watch chirped. Moon quickly covered her wrist with her other hand to muffle the sound and looked for cover. She settled on a covered alcove and darted in.

"This is Sailor Pluto," the watch hissed when Sailor Moon opened it. "I'm at the portal building. Sailor Moon, Akane, are you guys safe?"

Both of them sighed in relief. "Finally! We thought you'd never get here! There's a youma flying around, but we're under cover. We might be able to move, but we're kinda lost..."

"Hang on, we'll draw the youma off. Can you get to a rooftop?"

They edged out of the alcove and bounded up to the top of a three-story building and looked around. They soon saw a series of orange balls of energy flying into the sky. The flying youma started angling toward the source, followed by four small figures on distant rooftops around the area.

"Thay may need our firepower," Akane said. "Let's go."

There was an ominous chuckle from behind them. "Heh heh... I rather think you'll be coming with me." Kunzite grabbed Sailor Moon and Akane Tendo by the arms, and then all was darkness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Next: Dance of the Fates

Further notes:

Much of the delay in writing in recent months has been figuring out where to put each character and how they will come together. I didn't want the placements to be too convenient; they had to seem random. When working on the next chapter, I realized there was a better-looking placement, putting Ryoga with Venus in America and Tatewaki Kuno with Jupiter in Africa. But, too much had been written at that point.

Now for the big battle. Things will get serious...


	27. Dance of the Fates

Chapter 27: Dance of the Fates

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga kicked the side of the tunnel in frustration. "Stay here! Feh. Does Ranma really think we can afford to be stuck like this? Can you do this? Just wait while your friends are fighting for their lives?"

"Hey, I don't like it any more than you do. But Ranma did sound kind of rushed. I guess he really doesn't know what to do right now. He always used to know, so I guess it's gonna get on his nerves."

"Shows you what kind of guy he is, letting us down when we need him most." He looked up and down the tunnel, but it was too dark to see far. "Heck with it. I'm not just going to wait. 'Keep on moving' was my motto for the longest time anyway." He started heading down the tunnel.

"Wait!" Jupiter tried to block him. "We don't know where we're going! My map doesn't cover this area!"

"Then let's keep going until we find someplace that IS on your map."

"Okay, wait. How about this." She hit her communicator. "Jupiter to Mercury. Do you know where Ryoga and me are, exactly? I mean, can you give us some idea of where our tunnel goes? And how to get to you?"

Mercury's voice came back. "Ummmm... let me see... if you keep going there will be a junction, straight ahead is a bend, but if you go left..."

"Where's the North Pole at around all this?" Ryoga asked. "Right at the center?"

"Well... yeah, that's about it."

"Which way does our tunnel lead?"

"It goes there... toward the center... but after the bend..."

"We don't need to take the bend." Ryoga picked up his pace, leaving Jupiter to catch up as he ran forward to the bend. It was gentle; he went far enough for the pole to be on the left wall, then paused to examine that wall.

He extended a finger and jabbed, the Breaking Point strike excavating an alcove. Ryoga cleared away some of the debris and struck again, then a third time. Jupiter looked at him in disbelief. "How do you do that?"

"The Bakusai Tenketsu - the Breaking Point technique. It was originally used for tunneling. I just thought I may as well use it that way..."

"That's awesome!" Jupiter beamed a smile. "And we don't have to worry about youma this way!"

They tunneled through about twenty feet before they reached another tunnel. It was below the level of the one they were making - the debris fell down instead of flying out. Ryoga looked into the hole. "See? We don't need a map."

The two hopped down into the new tunnel. And found themselves with youma on either side of them. Hungry looking ones.

Ryoga sweatdropped. "Okay... maybe not so safe..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"%This looks good,%" Mousse said. "%It's pretty out-of-the way. They shouldn't bother us here.%" He had stopped in a small chamber, dimly lit by a larger one nearby. The light mainly came from softly glowing ovoids that Shampoo had to imagine were eggs or cocoons. She wasn't interested in youma life cycles at the moment. She looked at Mousse in the light, now clearly seeing his altered face and form, resembling a reddish lion-man.

"%Mousse... you... you've become a youma...%"

"%Not completely. They gave me a little power, to make me look like a cat, and give me enough strength to make me more than a match for Ranma. I did it for you, Shampoo. Now I have to power to defeat Ranma once and for all. Just wait here. I'll have the curse freed up so you can take it. Then I can go back to being human and we can go back to our village, and you can live the life you were meant to.%" A life with me at your side, he thought. When you have the Lady's power, you'll see that's what was meant to be.

"%You shouldn't have... Beryl will really let you go? Just like that? They don't deal fairly, they lied to you...%"

"%If they won't change me back, I'll make them.%" He produced several weapons from his sleeves. "%And if they CAN'T, well, I'll find some way, somehow. It's a price I'm willing to pay for your sake.%"

His poor eyesight really was symbolic. He just could not see - now that he had taken the Dark Power, he was trapped. He would never be on the side of right, the side she would choose. "%Mousse...%"

He tried to leave, but she took his now-furry face in her hands and held his gaze for a minute. She brought her face closer to his, pressed lips to muzzle. His eyes and hers closed, tears coming from both. And she slipped a long knife from his robes and stabbed upward into his neck.

She pulled back, staring at him, a look of betrayal registering in his eyes before they went lifeless. She pulled more blades from his robes and hacked at him, cutting away limbs, literally and figuratively disarming him. She took a few with her as she walked back down the tunnels, trying to remember which way they had come.

She did not look back. Nor did she shed any tears. He had never been more than a pest to her. When he had gone over to Beryl, he had become an enemy. And enemies were for killing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tuxedo Mask blended in easily with the crowd in the entertainment district of Hong Kong, keeping his top hat and mask in the crook of one arm. No one paid him much attention. so far, there were no police sirens, no here, but he had to be wary in case something came up.

In this time zone, the night was still young, just nearing midnight. He had seen no evidence of youma activity yet, but that didn't mean there was none. He could readily imagine several nightclubs along this street would leave their customers more drained of energy than usual. But he couldn't get in them on the strength of his dress alone, and didn't have local currency for the cover charges. Which were probably a month's wages for him anyway.

There were some open-air parties, some TV screens showing news and sports from around the world, and these now seemed to be getting interrupted by news reports of terrorist - youma - activity in several countries. More than likely, any activity in Hong Kong would be covered up by the government for the time being. They would try to handle it in low-key style.

He looked up for a moment, thinking he had seen a dark shape swoop over the street. No, he was sure of it. Something with batlike wings had just flown up the street. It was gone now, lost in the shadows and lights of the high-rise buildings all around, but it was almost certainly a youma. He had to check it out.

He made his way to a convenient rooftop with a large lit sign, donning mask and hat. His silhouette should be unmistakable. It was: the shape, a conventional-looking gargoyle type, swooped in close, hovered for a moment, then flew away again.

"No attack...?" Not even time to make up a speech or try to interrogate it. Did it truly not recognize him? Was it not actually a Dark Kingdom youma?

After a few minutes, he started hopping along rooftops, then down to the street, wishing for his bike. Did the thing have companions? He suddenly realized it was probably under very strict orders - it was just doing reconnaissance. Beryl would be attacking the more powerful and important targets first, perhaps, if she were smart.

He would be the first to admit, his power was quite weak when stacked against any of the Senshi: he could dispel attacks, but not kill any youma flat out. Still, it was worthwhile to track it, try to find out if it was randomly thrown here like he was, or actually stationed here. Or if it had come through the local portal to look for the invaders.

He received his answer soon enough. The gargoyle flew over him from behind, then blocked his way. He summoned a rose and threw, impaling the thing, paralyzing it, though he knew it should only be temporary. He needed to get away, find something that could be used as a weapon, or a deathtrap -

When he turned around to run, he saw the gargoyle had bought friends. Several shapes in various hues, some even masculine, were approaching him from all sides. The leader, a hulking blue male type, addressed him directly. "So. You were with the Sailor Senshi. One of their friends. You will bring them."

"Make me," Tuxedo Mask said. He summed several roses and threw. All of the monsters were held as he ran between them.

The gargoyle, however, had recovered sooner than he thought. It came down from high above, flapping its wings to generate a powerful wind that staggered him and blew off his hat and mask. He was forced to his knees for a moment.

"So... you're tough. I guess it's a running battle, then." He summoned another rose and transfixed the gargoyle again, darting off to recover his hat and mask before leading the youma on a chase to some relatively deserted area for a proper fight.

Unfortunately for him, Beryl's cycle of skimming through youma viewpoints had reached Hong Kong again at that moment. Her eyes went wide as she saw him. "That face! Can it be...? Yes! It must be Endymion!" She opened contact with the team. "Do not harm him! Bring him to me!"

The youma took the new orders in stride. "As you command, Your Highness." It swooped away from its quarry, then came back around at a different angle while the rest of the team held off. It swooped in, claws extended as if to rake.

Tuxedo Mask fell for it, bringing his cane up to block. When the gargoyle tried to grab the cane instead, he tightened his grip, trying to hold on to it. The flying monster then revered course, heading backwards, pulling the human off his feet, leaving him dangling precariously forty stories over the city.

He held on for dear life as the monster flew him to a warehouse along the docks and straight into the portal.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo paced up and down the tunnel, twirling a throwing knife in one hand. After wiping out the youma team Beryl had sent through, they had come through themselves and killed a couple of youma on watch, and were ready to move when Ranma had ordered them to stay put while Mercury, Venus, and Tatewaki Kuno came to them. "Where ARE they? They should be here by now."

"Patience," Sailor Neptune counseled. She stood calmly next to the portal, seemingly imperturbable. She didn't even have a hair out of place. "It hasn't been all that long yet. I'm sure they're making their best time."

"I would think my brother has gotten carried away again," Kodachi said. "He gets like that when he has many opponents at once. He loved the idea of a crusade against demons..."

"If his glory hunting gets Venus or Mercury hurt, I'm gonna pound him flatter than an okonomiyaki," Ukyo vowed. "If they're getting in over their heads, they should call us for help."

As if in answer, Neptune's watch chirped. "Sailor Venus to Sailor Neptune! Are you guys still OK?"

"We're still waiting at London," Neptune responded. "No youma here yet."

"We're dragging a few with us. Start coming toward us, we can clear them faster once we're together."

"All RIGHT!" Ukyo quickly led the way down the tunnel, pausing at a junction. "Straight ahead, or make a left?"

Neptune relayed the command. "We'll be coming from straight ahead," Mercury's voice said. "Wait... there's two... no, three coming in from your left! About a minute away!"

"Okay, we'll get moving once we take care of them..."

"No! There's two more coming from the right tunnel ahead of you! You're going to get surrounded!"

"Better to have them all on one side of us instead of between us," Ukyo said, charging ahead. When they reached the right junction, she had the group pause and threw a smoke grenade down it before crossing. Once again she thanked the London police for providing replacements for her own spent tricks.

Fog suddenly clouded the tunnel ahead. Ukyo paused, ready to strike, turning back and forth to be ready for attacks from either direction. A cry of "Crescent BEAM!" came from out of the fog, then Venus, Mercury, and the elder Kuno ran out, nearly colliding with them.

"Great! The gang's all here!" Ukyo beamed. "Neptune?"

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" A ball of sea-green energy shot into the fog. A death scream came back.

Then the youma were on them. Three came from the dissipating fog, five from the direction of London. Ukyo threw a fan of knives and deflected a return fire of spines, probably poisonous. "Mercury! Can you give us more fog?"

"No!" Venus ordered. "I can hardly see anything as it is!" They were not in a lit section of corridor, and the light from the Senshis' attacks were only flashes, adding to the confusion.

The action was hectic for a few minutes. The fishy youma firing the spines got Ukyo in the thigh with several before being dusted by Venus. Kodachi lashed out with a ribbon, perhaps trying to force her target to flinch, only to have the ribbon grabbed and the gymnast yanked off her feet. Ukyo could hardly hear herself think over the shouts, screams, and attack sounds.

When it was all over, the tunnel was very dark. Ukyo pulled out a flashlight, them passed two more to the Kunos. "Looks like you came prepared," Venus commented.

"Yeah, well, I figured they called it the DARK KINGDOM for a reason..." Uyko looked over their group. "Anyone hurt?"

"You!" Venus said, looking at the fish spines in Ukyo's leg. "That looks painful."

"It's nothing," Ukyo grunted as she pulled them out. She began applying a bandage. Katrina had insisted they carry some, and Kodachi had asked to carry antivenom medicines, wary of poisonous youma. "We've got to keep moving. There's probably more on the way. Which way next?"

"Ranma said we were to go to Cairo after this... that should be... the left way ahead." They started moving again, heading toward the left junction Ukyo's group had passed, now on their right, and took it.

"Chicago, London, Cairo... this place is better than any airport," Venus said. "Faster, and no airsickness! Maybe when we've beaten these guys we can use it to travel the world! I'd love to see Paris, or Rome..."

"You'll still get jet lag," Neptune observed.

Mercury was keeping her visor active, set to motion sensing. "There's all kinds of youma around us," she said. "They're all heading toward us!"

"They will not be keeping to mere patrols," Tatewaki said. "Now they know where to send their men. It is becoming a war of attrition."

"We might want to start looking for something to use as shields," Neptune said. "A lot of them seem to like to use ranged attacks..."

"Ranchan said one of the major types likes to throw bombs," Ukyo said. "We probably don't have to worry about them down here. Too much chance of causing a collapse."

"Is it my imagination, or is it getting warmer?" Venus asked.

Mercury made some adjustments to her visor and hit a few keys on her computer. "The temperature is rising," she said, "but we're not close to any geothermal vents..." A few more keystrokes. "It seems to be chi induced... Guys! There's a HUGE mass of energy building just beyond Cairo!"

"Building up?" Ukyo asked. "Is it Ranma?"

"I don't know... but it's causing some bad vibrations..."

They could feel it in the ground now. It started as a low rumble, quickly rising to an earthquake. "Brace yourselves!" Venus said.

The Senshis' watches all chirped. "This is Sailor Mars! What's going on? There's an earthquake starting here!"

"That far away already...?" Venus asked. "Hang on, this looks like it's going to be bad!"

They all felt a sudden shock, not just through the stone but seeming to reach into their very souls.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The battle had begun conventionally, a frenetic dance of death, thrust and dodge and parry at speeds that had climbed faster than the eye could follow. The combatants, both being ancient, burned chi to enhance performance to levels approaching what they were capable of in youth.

It had quickly become apparent to Cologne that this form of battle favored her opponent. Of the two, Happosai was slightly less physically decrepit; enough so to enjoy a noticeable advantage in speed, stamina, and agility. A battle like this was his to win, though it might take hours. And for Cologne, the point of a battle of rapid movement would be to target shiatsu points. This was out of the question against Happosai: he was too knowledgeable of shiatsu himself.

Cologne fell into defensive movements, trying to conserve energy, blocking but not attacking. She was not worried. She knew her opponent.

Predictably enough, he eventually grew frustrated. He stood there in the middle of the floor, breathing hard, glaring in annoyance. "Well, I have to say this has been fun. But I don't have all day. What say we just jan-ken-pon?" He held up a fist, ready for a game.

"I knew you didn't have the strength to hold out," Cologne taunted. "After all this time, I expect you should have no pride in your manliness left."

"My MANLINESS! I'll show you some manliness!" His battle aura rose, filling the room.

Cologne suppressed a smile and raised her own aura. The two stood there, grappling through their chi auras, their bodies no longer a factor in the fight, giving Cologne a much better chance. Their efficiencies were about equal, and their expenditures much greater, leaving them both weaker within minutes.

Those minutes passed tensely, but not silently. The auras themselves emitted a dull roar. The air heated up, becoming hot enough to cause a bystander to perspire - the combatants already sweating from exertion. The combatants shifted their auras constantly, strengthening and weakening them, changing resonances, setting up sympathetic resonances in the area, inducing vibrations for miles around, growing to earthquake strength.

Happosai realized his mistake, but dared not break off; if he returned to purely physical combat, he would be overwhelmed. Weakening his aura to just a defensive level to free up energy for physical combat would be fruitless; he would not be able to move fast enough for a proper attack.

Cologne was not bound by this restriction. She could make an effective attack on him with slow movements. She could barely stand to do it, and she was certain not to survive it, but she could take him with her.

In her heart, she had known for some time it would come down to this. Her life for his, for the world. She took a step, another, stalking slowly toward him, coming face to face, nose to nose... and grabbed him.

Contact with nubile female flesh was energizing to Happosai. Contact with the opposite... had the opposite effect. His mouth opened, silently at first, then screaming in wordless horror.

Eventually he found his voice. "GAAAHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN? TRYING TO KILL ME?"

"AS A MATTER OF FACT, YES!" She wanted to vomit, but held on close, destroying his energy and hers. Their auras grew incandescent. Inevitably, sparks flew.

In the middle of a pile of gunpowder. Which naturally exploded. The energy release from the two ancient masters' bodies was far greater.

The blast cleared the blockages of the tunnels, and created new ones up to several miles away. And, of course, brought down the roof.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"WAAUUGHHH!" Sailor Moon and Akane Tendo flailed their arms and fell flat on their faces. They both lay there stunned momentarily, then got up and dusted themselves off, gazing into the darkness.

"Where are we?" Akane asked. They held hands for security as their eyes scanned the darkness, slowly adjusting to the low light. They were in a tunnel about ten feet across, with glowing lichen patches on the walls.

Kunzite stood off in one direction of the tunnel, looking at the two with an amused expression. He gave a contemptuous laugh. "You look a little short on friends, Sailor Moon. You gave Jadeite some trouble with only two. Can you give me any challenges with just this one?"

Akane assumed a fighting stance. "Just try me, buster."

Kunzite regarded the Tendo girl with curiosity. "You look vaguely familiar. Where have I seen you before? Hmmm... Ah. I think Zoicite faced you once, didn't he?" He held out a hand and an image formed above it, of Akane in makeshift Sailor Senshi costume punching Zoicite through a building. "Quite a punch you pack, girl."

"That's right. You better let us go or I'll give you the same thing."

"But, Akane," Sailor Moon worried, "you don't have that strength powerup anymore..."

This drew an interested glance from Kunzite. "Do tell."

Akane sweatdropped. "You just had to mention that, didn't you?" Sailor Moon could only 'eep' when she realized Akane had been trying to bluff.

Kunzite gave them another contemptuous laugh. "Well, it matters not. Your strike did not truly harm Zoicite. All the same, however... I do believe some payback is in order." Suddenly Kunzite was a blur, rushing forward as if shot from a cannon. His fist connected with Akane's chest, sending her flying back a good twenty feet.

Sailor Moon rushed to her as she flopped around on the ground, struggling to breathe and coughing up blood. "AKANE! Are you all right?" When it was clear the Tendo girl was not about to die immediately, she faced Kunzite. A look of hard determination came across her features. "You'll pay for that! I won't let you hurt any more people!"

"You can't protect her. You can't even protect yourself!" Kunzite materialized energy blades in his hands and threw them at Sailor Moon. They did minor damage to her costume; the cuts into her flesh were shallow, but painful. The blades, boomerang-shaped, returned to his hands. "Hand over the guinzuishou and I will let you live!"

"Never!" Sailor Moon pulled out her wand, hoping to return fire, but Kunzite threw his energy blades again, then summoned two more and threw those after the first two. Once in flight, the blades took on a life of their own, circling around her, darting in and inflicting new cuts before darting out again.

The beleaguered Moon Senshi found she did not have time to fire; she couldn't even properly dodge. But she would not have time to dwell on her hopeless situation; she felt a low vibration in the ground, growing to become a rumble, a dull roar, a definite shake. As a Tokyo resident she recognized a building earthquake, and braced herself.

Kunzite did not seem to have similar experience. The shaking broke his concentration, leaving his blades spinning in the air without attacking. His footing grew unsteady as the vibrations built, ending in a sudden large shock. Both of them felt it not only as a physical tremor through the ground, but on a deeper level. Sailor Moon recognized it as a chi effect, recalling those times Ranma had shown the Senshi his mastery of chi attacks.

The shock knocked Kunzite to the ground, dissipating his energy blades. Sailor Moon was quick to her feet, and took advantage of the opening. She pulled out her wand and set up her shot. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Kunzite raised his arm, blocking the glare from the guinzuishou with his cloak. "I am one of the lords of the Dark Kingdom! You will not reduce me!"

But he was now on the defensive. His rest in Moscow had recovered some energy; his reserves were still low, but he had thought they should be enough to defeat Sailor Moon alone. Now that he was under direct attack, however, he found those reserves depleting fast. He could no longer afford to play around. He had to finish this. He opened his arms, exposing himself fully to the light of the guinzuishou, and summoned a single blade into his right hand, throwing it directly at Sailor Moon, aiming for a kill.

It was more a reflex action than anything else; she couldn't have gotten the result if she'd actually tried. Sailor Moon adjusted her wand, blocking the flying blade with it, sending it straight back at Kunzite.

The Dark Kingdom general tried to block with his arm, raising it in front of him again, still wrapped in his cloak. He missed, holding his forearm inches too high. The blade passed under the arm, through his cloak, and sank into his chest, piercing his heart.

"Im- impossible... By my own weapon..." Just like that, it was over. All the work, the waiting, the sacrifices, betrayals, all for nothing. His energies were turned against themselves now, tearing his being apart. He cast his eyes to the ceiling, a pleading look on his face. "Zoicite... that place where you have gone... I will meet you there..." His body dissolved into bubbles and motes of light, fading within seconds.

Sailor Moon fell to the ground, emotionally exhausted. She moved to look over Akane. "Akane... can you talk? Are you in pain?"

It was hard to tell in the low light if the injured girl were pale. She didn't seem to be coughing anymore, though she was alert, and holding her side. "That light ... that thing you did... I think it helped me a bit," she said weakly. "I was in the backwash. It must have helped."

"It can do that," Moon said. "Can you stand? I don't like the idea of just waiting here for somebody to find us. It might be Beryl..."

Akane managed to stand, though she was clearly in pain. "I must still have a few broken ribs. I won't be much good in a fight." She nodded to the Senshi's wrist communicator. "Does that still work? We need to contact everybody, see if any of them was hurt."

Filled with sudden worry, Sailor Moon opened her watch. She was now very keen to know just where everyone was and what had happened to them.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What in all the Hells was THAT?" Magnetite asked. There had been a building tremor, ending in a uge shock, on both the physical and psychic planes. He looked to Beryl, who rubbed her head as if having a sudden migraine, though thankfully she seemed uninjured. Her crystal ball had gone dark again, no doubt affected by the shock.

"The middle east section..." Beryl said. "I saw an energy drain in that area, between Calcutta and Cairo. I would not have thought the Senshi had such powers..."

"We should hope they don't, anymore," Magnetite said. Then he realized the meaning of the location. "Calcutta to Cairo... That was where Sailor Pluto was last tracked! It had to be her!"

"We must make sure she is dead," Beryl said, fixing Magnetite with a commanding glare. "Take what youma you need and investigate. Bring her body if there is anything left."

As Magnetite left, Beryl had already begun chanting over her crystal ball, no doubt trying to restore her scrying. Once she did that, he knew, she would have better ability to find any returning Senshi than he would on foot. There were Senshi known to be in the European area just before the blast. He would have to be prepared to deal with them if he ran into them.

Several youma came running up the tunnels toward the throne room. "Lord Magnetite! Several tunnels have collapsed this way! There are youma trapped!"

"Magnetite-sama! The ceiling has fallen in Egg Room Three! There are four hundred eggs there!"

"Lord Magnetite - "

"SILENCE! You are all coming with me. I have orders from the Queen. I cannot delay. Trapped youma will have to wait. We cannot do anything for broken eggs. We will clear what paths we need, but some blockages will serve us well. There are still Senshi about. We will have our best chances in numbers."

Fifty meters farther on, the tunnel had fallen completely. None of the youma with him would have earth shaping powers, or they would not have gone running for help. Magnetite began chanting a spell. The fallen rock in front of them turned to mud, becoming easy to move with force-waves.

Several youma had been trapped under the rubble; they were now freed. "You are with me," he commanded. They fell into line immediately, grateful for the rescue.

Magnetite made his way down toward the epicenter of the blast, his army growing slowly. A smile crept across his lips. With any luck, a few Senshi had been crushed by falling rocks.

On the other hand, in the worst case, if Sailor Pluto were still alive, in fighting condition... Magnetite flexed a hand, making as if to grip the Time Key Staff. He could use more attunement, but he had enough to use its basic functions... such as summoning it from storage in the treasure room. If they ran into any Sailor Senshi, he would be ready to hand them their heads.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"WORLD SHAKING!" The last youma vanished in a scream and a cloud of dust. The two Outer Senshi kept stances for a few seconds, ready for another youma to leap out at them, but none came.

"That should be the last one, I think," Pluto said, scanning the rooftops. "Now for Akane and Sailor Moon. Funny, they should have been here by now." She opened her watch. "Sailor Pluto here! All the youma are dead. Sailor Moon, Akane, you can come on out now."

No answer. Pluto tried again, sounding exasperated. "Come on, guys, you can come out or I'm coming after you!" Still no response. "You asked for it." The two started leaping across the city, bounding over narrow streets, Pluto leading the way.

They arrived at the spot their teammates had last been hiding. There was no sign of them. "Dammit, where could they be? They were just here!"

"Are you sure about that?" Uranus asked. "Maybe they got lost."

"They woulda been going straight over the roofs like we did. YO! AKANE! SAILOR MOON! WAKEY WAKEY! GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS UP! IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!"

People on the street stared, but no Senshi or schoolgirls came out. "I don't like the looks of this," Uranus said. "Maybe they really aren't here. Can you see where they might have gone?"

Pluto closed her eyes and turned her sight to the future. If Cologne were able to keep Happosai tied up as they'd hoped, her sight should be clear on this side of the portal. And it was. She spent a few minutes imagining herself searching the city for hours.

"Nuh-uh," Pluto finally said. "They're not here anymore."

"But we would have seen them if they'd gone through the portal!"

"Maybe..." Pluto closed her eyes again, this time looking at the recent past, trying to find alternate paths. What if she had not attracted the youma, but gone straight to Sailor Moon's hiding place? The other youma would still converge there, but...

Her eyes suddenly flew open. "Kunzite!" She leaptback toward the portal, Uranus following. "He's still around! He grabbed them while we were fighting!"

"Kunzite took them? And you didn't see that coming?" Uranus asked accusingly.

"There's a lot going on!" Pluto said. "I can only see things so fast!" She did not want to tell Uranus that she HAD seen things going this way. The Outer Senshi would not like the path Pluto was choosing.

They moved as fast as their magically-enhanced bodies could go; both of them were winded as they reached the portal building. The sight that met them was not encouraging. There was a pile of dirt and rock on the ground in front of the portal, looking as if it had been dumbed from the other side.

"That doesn't look good," Uranus said. She picked up a rock and threw it into the portal. It came bouncing back. "Blocked. Maybe the youma got smart and collapsed the tunnel."

"I'm not so sure..." Pluto said. Her feelings were suddenly getting darker. "We'll have to clear this away to do anything, though."

Uranus cracked her knuckles. "Sounds like my job. WORLD SHAKING!"

Pluto moved a few rooftops away to get away from the noise of excavation and closed her eyes in concentration. She had been clear on what would happen on this side of the portal; with Happosai in play on the other side, the other side was going to be harder to see. The near future showed they could make their way to an open tunnel easily enough within a few minutes. A callout on her wrist communicator would find all of their party, Senshi and Nerimans, would be in relatively good shape. The Chinese were harder to find.

*Everything's so clear,* she thought. *Too clear. The old ghoul must have the freak locked down REAL tight. Or else...*

A cold feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as she opened up her field of view. A blackness surrounded her, signifying her own death. She could push it back some hours, play for time, keep the Senshi running in circles, perhaps withdraw through a portal and flee on a vehicle, returning later. Nothing would stop her from hitting that darkness within about twelve hours.

Within that time, she could find Shampoo's body at about five hours out. Knowing where to look, she found the Amazon warrior alive at thirty minutes. A little more work, and she had a rescue for her within five to ten. As for Cologne...

As far out as she could go, she could not see them meeting Cologne. But Mercury could get a good picture of the state of the tunnel network. The whole area where they were, near Cairo, the area where she had left Cologne to delay Happosai, was collapsed. There were no life signs under all the rock.

Soul of Ice. No fear, no pain, no sorrow. She looked into the past, saw what had happened.

She sat there for nearly a minute, then forced herself to stand up. "Dammit, you old ghoul... I TOLD you not to do anything silly." She balled a fist. "No one... no one ELSE will die today."

Uranus was still firing balls of earth-moving energy into the portal. Of all the Senshi, her powers were most suited to this work; her elemental affinity was earth. She paused when Pluto reentered the small hovel. "How's it look on the other side?"

"EVeryone's okay, for now," Pluto said. If she told Uranus her suspicions about Cologne, the Outer Senshi would become much more difficult to work with. Normally, she wouldn't care, being the type to bull past objections, but right now things were a bit touch and go. "We gotta talk with everyone." She moved into the portal.

The air was choked with dust. Both Senshi coughed and waved it away from their faces. Pluto opened her watch just in time to hear Sailor Moon wailing. "EVERYBODY! THIS IS SAILOR MOON! I'M WITH AKANE! WE'RE LOST AND IT'S DARK AND AKANE'S HURT AND I'M SCAAAAARRREEEDDD!"

"CAN IT, ODANGO ATAMA!" Mars' voice said. "If you keep yelling like that every youma in the Dark Kingdom is going to be on top of you!"

"Mercury's tracking you now," Venus said. "How bad is Akane hurt? What happened to you guys?"

"I don't know where we were, but it was hot and dusty and there were all these Arab-looking people. And then we got grabbed by Kunzite and ended up here. Wherever we are."

"Kunzite! He's alive?"

"Well, not anymore... we, uhhh, kinda killed him."

"Woah. Was that the earthquake we just had?"

"No, that wasn't us. It did help, though, but he was just as surprised as we were."

"Then who did it?" This from Jupiter.

Pluto took that opportunity to break in. "That was Cologne and Happosai," she said. "Uranus and me left the old bat to delay him, and it looks like they pulled out all the stops."

"Oh my gosh," Venus said. "Is she all right? Does she need help? Who can get to her? Even she's got to be a bit worn out after that..."

"They'll be tied up for... a while," Pluto lied. She didn't like having to betray her comrades' trust like this, this wasn't some game or joke, but they had to work together for the next few minutes. "We lost track of Shampoo, too. She doesn't have a radio, but I know where she is. Mars? What are you doing right now?"

"I'm waiting by a portal to Japan. Venus told me to hold here, her group would come get me."

"Get moving. Take the third right, then the second left after the curve. You'll run into Shampoo. Keep following that path, it will take you right to the prisoner area. Venus, keep your group moving toward Moon. You'll probably run into a few youma when you get to her. I'll head to the prisoner area from the other side, and we'll all meet up near there, or so."

"What about us?" Jupiter said. "I've got Ryoga here. He's got this cool tunneling move -"

"You guys keep following the tunnel you're in. You'll get to your mapped area eventually. Pluto out." She closed the communicator.

"That sounded commanding," Uranus said. "I guess you're our leader now, aren't you?"

"What, me, leading people? No way. I'm not made for it."

"Well, you're the best thing we got, for today anyhow. How about you lead us out of this dark hole?"

It was pitch black in their self-dug tunnel. Pluto held her staff at the correct angle. "Feel along my staff. This direction, a few more blasts."

It took four. There was enough phosphorescent lichen in the tunnel to walk at a normal speed without having to feel their way along. Pluto still felt the darkness looming about her, however, limiting her future like a wall. A wall with one possible crack in it.

She was a Saotome, given to gambles when all else failed. Right now, that one crack looked like the only gamble to make. She would trust in it. One point of light in the darkness.

"Come on," she said, heading down the tunnel. "Time to meet my mother."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They were actually making good time: lone youma tended to avoid them, pairs mostly had one or both members trapped, and there had been no large groups so far. Sailor Venus was beginning to think they would meet up with their lost teammates without any trouble.

Not all of them were so optimistic. "It's too quiet," Ukyo said. "We should have been attacked by now."

"I keep feeling we are overdue for a large attack," Kodachi said.

"This place feels wrong to me," Neptune said. "We are under the sea, but not IN the sea... it isn't even like being in a submarine. All of it feels... unnatural."

"Well, of COURSE this place is going to give off bad vibes," Venus said. "This IS Bad Guy Central."

"Do not allow your fears to trouble you," Tatewaki said, advancing briskly down the tunnel, his sword before him. "The true warrior concerns himself not with his own death, but with delivering death to his enemies, and let his skills and the Gods decide his fate."

"Thank you, Mr. Positive," Venus said. "Personally, I think a little concern with staying alive couldn't hurt."

They emerged from the tunnel into a series of chambers connected by short openings. Each of the line of chambers had other exits, branch tunnels or other chambers, some shafts dropping to lower levels. Ukyo didn't like the look of the tactical terrain. "This looks like a main highway or something. We'd be too exposed here. We were getting good mileage out of those narrow tunnels. Is there any way around?"

Mercury hit a few more keys on her computer. "No. But Sailor Moon is at the far end. The way leads straight to her."

"If we can make it..." Venus said. "Well, are there any youma actually nearby?"

"Nothing in range," Mercury said.

"Let's be quick, then," Ukyo said. The group took off into the chambers at a dead run.

The caves made a slow curve to the right. They were in the middle of the series when Mercury shouted a warning. "Youma incoming! to the left! Three - no, four - six - A WHOLE BUNCH!"

Ukyo cursed. "CAN WE MAKE IT?"

"WE HAVE TO!" Venus said.

They didn't. A pale figure walked into the middle of the chamber in front of them. More entered from the left as the Senshi group came to a screeching halt.

"BREAK THROUGH!" Tatewaki Kuno waded into the youma, swinging his sword.

"YOU JACKASS!" Ukyo shouted. "GET CLEAR SO WE CAN SHOOT!"

Things got wild from there.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sailor Mars pressed herself up against a fallen hunk of stone and held her breath. Two vaguely humanoid figures walked past. She began to breathe again when they had moved out of sight down the tunnel.

She wasn't worried about her ability to kill youma patrols when she ran into them; but being alone, she had a higher risk of injury than with her teammates backing her up, and even if she won without getting hurt the battle could delay her for several minutes. Her priority was getting to Pluto fast - and in one piece.

She ran when she dared, crept when she had to pass stationary guards, held still behind corridor bends or fallen pieces of ceiling when patrols passed by. She had only had to fight once so far, and didn't want to push her luck.

She came to a branch to her left and slowed, creeping up to the corner. She darted her head around to check for waiting youma - and was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown to the ground, arms pinned by her enemy's legs. She knew she was about to die - but her killer hesitated.

Mars looked at her enemy's face. It bore a great resemblance to Sailor Moon.

"You sick?" Shampoo asked.

"No," Mars said.

"Sound like sick horse." Shampoo got off of Mars and helped her to her feet. "You be quiet if want to sneak around."

Mars would have walloped the Chinese girl, but she remembered how dismally she had done against her in training. She wanted to improve her skills, but not to the level of Shampoo or Ranma. She wanted a life with a little more to it than martial arts. "I won't need to sneak around so much now that you're here. Are you alone? Where were you? Ranma said you'd got taken by some youma..."

"Is dead now," Shampoo said. "No worry about what behind us. Worry about what ahead of us."

Mars started walking again, Shampoo falling in beside her. "What's ahead of us is Ranma's family. I hope he's got a good plan for that..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Mars is just up ahead," Pluto said. She paused, more to gather her courage than to catch her breath, then went onward.

Uranus was relieved when she caught sight of Shampoo. "That's one worry down. Now we have to catch up with the others."

"Prisoners first," Pluto said. "They're not far away. But... ah... they might receive us better if I'm in male form. They're gonna expect Ranma Saotome."

"You'll need hot water, won't you?" Mars said.

"There's water nearby. We're under the ocean floor here, and there are all kinds of cracks since that earthquake. There's a few leaks around here..."

They soon found a pool. Mars gave it a Fire Soul blast. Pluto detransformed, returning to the black pants and red Chinese shirt she normally wore. She splashed herself with the water, and Ranma Saotome stood up.

"This way," he said, taking them down a short maze of corridors into mid-size room with several human figures. And two youma.

"Maybe you should have stayed a Senshi," Uranus suggested.

"You two can handle the kill shots," Ranma said. "Once we have them down, we're basically gonna have to retreat. We've got what we came for, now we gotta make sure they're safe at home."

"We're meeting up with the others first, aren't we?" Uranus asked.

"I know, us guys from Nerima should escort them," he said, voicing what Uranus would be thinking. "But we aren't set up for that, and this area's crawling with youma. We'll have to move right away, so we'll be stuck in separate groups for a bit longer. I'll go hook up with Ucchan's group, they should have Sailor Moon with them soon. The rest of you will have to get moving right away. See my family and the Tendos to the portal Mars came from - it's Japan, at least."

"Are you sure?" Uranus asked accusingly. "Your sight hasn't served you well lately. Maybe you'll need my help."

"No, I'm pretty confident Mars will need your help more. Don't worry, I always know where I'm going."

Uranus looked about to say something further, then shrugged. "Fine. I'll be coming back for you when we make our little delivery." That settled, the group prepared to storm the prison.

The youma looked quite vicious, one bristling with spikes, the other holding small balls that Ranma knew were bombs. The spiked one was standing in front of a long object wrapped in cloth leaning against the wall: the Saotome family honor blade. Naturally his mother would have been disarmed, but Beryl displayed more of her usual confidence in her youma, keeping it in the same room, trusting her prisoners were sufficiently well immobilized.

She might have been justified in this case. The Tendos and Saotomes were embedded into the wall, as if it had been mud frozen into rock; probably by some youma with earth-based powers. Of Genma and Soun, only their upper faces were visible, their mouths covered. At least Beryl had SOME sense...

Ranma had one bronze rod left. He couldn't fire through it in male form, but that wasn't how he needed to use it for this work. He strode straight into view. "Evening, guys."

The prisoners' eyes went wide with anticipation. All except his mother; her expression was unreadable. The youma did not bother to speak. The spiked one raised its arms, shooting several of its spikes at him; he dodged easily, plucking a few out of the air and sending them back at the sender, putting out its eyes and impaling its throat.

The other one threw its bombs. Ranma knew they were fused to blow just before reaching him; he closed the gap and used his rod to bat them back at the thrower. Then he was upon them, up close and physical, following quick on the stun from the bombs, battering them and throwing them around. When they looked sufficiently angry, he backed off to one side.

They fell for it, coming after him, getting out from in front of the prisoners. They were surprised by a sudden shout from the door: "BURNING MANDALA!" All the humans present were relieved to see them melt away in flame.

"Ranma! Thank heavens you're here!" Kasumi said.

"Get us OUT of here!" Nabiki whined. "My nose has been itching for an hour and it's driving me crazy! Plus, did you see any bathrooms around here?"

"You can find a nook out in the tunnels on your way back to Japan." Breaking Point strikes weren't necessary; fists and manly strength were enough to free them all.

"I knew you'd do it, son!" Soun said.

"I never doubted you for a second, boy!" his father said. He turned to Nodoka. "You see? Isn't this a perfectly MANLY thing to do?"

Ranma's mother did not look entirely convinced. "You... you ARE Ranma? My son? Truly?"

"It's me, mother," Ranma said. "I've come to get you out of here."

"The... the monsters... they told us... some things about you. They said you weren't manly. That you turned into a woman..." She paced nervously, then went to the blade leaning against the wall and began unwrapping its bindings.

"They're MONSTERS," Genma pointed out. "Ranma's their enemy. Of course they're going to spread lies about him!"

His wife knew too well how little his word was worth. She turned to the Senshi and Shampoo "Are you his girlfriends? Or lovers, perhaps?"

All three girls sweatdropped. "I just met the guy..." Uranus said.

"I've known him since the summer," Mars admitted. "He's worked with our team. He's always been a gentleman with us."

"A gentleman?" Nodoka looked as if she believed there were no such creatures.

"He strong warrior," Shampoo added.

"Does he have girlfriends? Any women he spends time with?"

"He has a fiancee," Mars said.

"Several, actually," Ranma said, rolling his eyes.

"Several? Well, that's manly. What about his honesty? Does he hide things from you?"

Mars and Uranus were getting suspicious about Mrs. Saotome's sense of manliness. Nevertheless, Mars answered truthfully. "Just the opposite. He's revealed all kinds of things we would never have known for ourselves. He's shown us what the youma will do before they know it themselves."

Before Nodoka could respond, there was a commotion at the door. "Incoming!" Ranma warned, and dove to one side.

There were two youma at the door. The one in front was a bruiser type, holding a large hunk of rock in front of itself as a shield. Uranus took the lead against it. "WORLD SHAKING!"

The blast tore through rock and youma, leaving a pile of dust. But it did not carry through to the one behind it. This one was dressed in firefighters' hat and rubber coat, with nozzles under each arm. It opened up with blasts of water, spraying the room with water at high pressure. Cold water.

Everyone was knocked down; the combatants were quick to get up. Shampoo leapt at the youma with sword drawn. The Senshi present charged their attacks. "BURNING MANDALA!" "WORLD -"

With three targets and only two nozzles, the youma did the best it could. It focused one on what looked to it like Sailor Moon, and at Sailor Uranus, knocking both down again. That left Sailor Mars firing from a third angle. The rings of fire quickly burned the youma to ash.

But the damage was done. Nodoka stared in shock at her son, now visibly changed underneath his Chinese silks. What Happosai had claimed was true. Her son was no man just now.

Ranma-chan stood straight up and looked her mother in the eye. "Yeah. It's true. I change. Just something I gotta put up with for a while."

Nodoka now had her honor blade fully unwrapped, held by the hilt, ready to wield. Tears started streaming from her eyes. "Ranma... my son... I... I can't... I didn't want to believe..." She shook her head as if to clear it, then levelled an accusing gaze. "How can you call yourself a man? How can THEY?" She raised the blade threateningly.

Ranma-chan could have tried to plead, to beg, to claim it was temporary, that she was going to be cured soon. But she knew that was not the way. She knew what she had to do. She brought her hands together, trapping the blade, and wrenched it out of her mother's grip, throwing it at the wall. It stuck in halfway to the hilt.

"I don't got time for this. I got a war to fight. You can kill me when it's over. PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

Nodoka sank to the floor, totally drained, watching helplessly as Sailor Pluto turned on her heel and strode out to the fight. She cried openly now. Her voice was very thin.

"My child... is truly a man..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The battle was in full swing, and it did not seem to Sailor Moon like it was going particularly well for the Senshi.

It had started off well enough: Mercury had fogged the area. One of the youma had used wind powers to blow the fog away. Neptune had killed one, Venus had used some new magic chain of hers to pull another to the Kuno boy for slice-and-dice, and Moon had pitched in with her tiara.

The youma had then proven to be smarter than those they had dealt with before; they had begun using fallen hunks of rock as cover and shields, and sniped from the doorways. They had used fields of darkness to inhibit vision in their favor, invisible youma to sneak behind the lines and knock Mercury unconscious, quick movers to dodge direct fire.

The Senshi had tried indirect fire, Venus snagging one with her chain from behind a rock, but now was pinned down. Moon had used her tiara to kill one under cover, but another one had taken a hunk of rock and blocked her shot, then another to trap the tiara. She had since recovered it, but she did not want to lose it again.

So now she was feeling rather useless. The fighting had been reduced to a stalemate across a nexus chamber, Venus' group holding two entrances on one side, Sailor Moon and Akane in one on the other side, and the youma holding the doorways in between.

And now one of the youma dorways produced a man in a general's uniform, which Sailor Moon could only imagine would break the stalemate... in the Dark Kingdom's favor. "So. The reports were correct. The Senshi are here. Even Sailor Moon herself. The Queen will be most pleased when I bring her the guinzuishou."

"Another general?" Venus asked in exasperation. "How many do you guys have?"

"Only one is needed... if he knows what he's doing. If the others had not been so concerned with politics and remembered the competence at military operations that made them generals in the first place, it might be one of them facing you now."

"Well, it doesn't matter how many!" Ukyo said. "We'll bring you all down!" She threw a fan of knives at him. Venus added her Crescent Beam, Neptune her Deep Submerge.

The newcomer merely disappeared, emerging from a different doorway. "Bring us all down? How about I bring the WALL down?" He brought his hands together in a series of motions and made a few chants.

Suddenly the walls on Venus' side turned to mud. The doorways closed up, forcing the people in them to move. Unfortunately for Sailor Moon, they all moved backwards, leaving her cut off when the doorways had completely closed up and hardened back to rock.

This left Sailor Moon alone with an injured Akane Tendo. Alone against a general and a small army of youma. He gestured to the youma. "Take her!"

The Moon Senshi and Akane ran down their tunnel to a large cavern with a vaulted roof, at least twenty meters high, lit by some type of glowing orbs or rocks and only one other exit.

The general teleported into the middle of the room. The youma blocked the entrance behind them. Sailor Moon and Akane Tendo were trapped between them. The general held up a hand, motioning to keep in place for the moment.

"You're lucky the Queen has given standing orders that you are to be brought to her alive. We already have your boyfriend in the tuxedo. If you come quietly, he won't be hurt."

Akane moved between Sailor Moon and the general. "Yeah, right. Like you guys have ever told the truth. Who are you, anyway, buster? Do you have a name?"

The general laughed. "I forgot. We haven't been properly introduced. Well, no matter. Sailor Moon will know who I am eventually... if Beryl lets her live that long. As for you..." He raised a hand, glowing with dark power. "What would the dead care?"

Sailor Moon was suddenly startled as a portion of the wall to the general's left as she faced him exploded, the new gap erupting in balls of violet energy. She yelped and hit the floor, covering her head with her arms, hoping she didn't get hit by something. When things quieted down, she poked her head up and looked around.

The youma behind her had been reduced to dust. The general had been thrown to the side, knocked on his butt, his uniform singed. Sailor Pluto stood in the new doorway. "Magnetite. Last of Beryl's top men. Looks like she's going to have to fight us alone now."

Akane looked at the newcomers with some annoyance. "About time YOU showed up." Pluto simply ignored her, not wanting to get diverted just now.

"Now this IS a proper rescue squad," Magnetite said, locking gazes with Pluto. "So, the storied Sailor Pluto finally appears. Or should I call you Mr. Saotome? Things can be so confusing when those springs are involved."

"You made the springs of Jusenkyo," Pluto said. "Thousands of people have suffered for centuries because of them. And you killed the original Lady Pluto. The one whose curse I now have. This is where you get to suffer a little payback."

"With that?" Magnetite gestured at the rod in Pluto's hands. "What is that? Bronze? Tsk. A far cry from what she had..."

"It's still gonna hurt." Pluto aimed, preparing to fire. "DEAD SCREAM!"

Akane tried leaping in support from another angle. Sailor Moon started running, readying her tiara. If this general were anything like the others, she knew, it would take all they had to beat him. She prepared to give it her best.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma Saotome had been trained from birth to be the world's best martial artist, often at insane levels of intensity. Though his training was far from complete, he was ranked as a master by several martial arts organizations. His skills were adequate to defeat many older men; among high school and college age men, he was unbeatable in a fair fight (and many unfair ones).

Magnetite, like the other officers of the Dark Kingdom, was a product of the Moon Kingdom's military academies. He had more total years of training and practice than Ranma, though at more sane levels of intensity, and a more complete education. He had never been a true master at combat by anyone's standards, but he had field experience, had seen men die, and had killed in the heat of battle. In a purely physical match, the two would be about even, with perhaps a slight edge to Ranma.

Of course, such speculation was moot; neither of them was a purely physical fighter anymore. Magnetite had far surpassed the limits of mere mortals when he accepted the Dark Power from Beryl. Ranma now had the form and some of the powers of Lady Pluto, against whom Magnetite had sparred, always being soundly schooled but gaining some insight into how to fight an opponent who could see your moves coming. The erstwhile Sailor Pluto he now faced had no direct, real-time experience fighting him.

But she was not alone. The mortal combatant, Akane Tendo, while formidable against schoolboys of marginal training and talent, was out of her depth in this battle. Sailor Moon, according to his combat analyses of recent months, was even worse, lacking in physical skills which her magical abilities did not truly make up for. She relied on her teammates to succeed. Their interference could not be discounted, as recent battles had shown. Magnetite decided to remove them as factors early and focus on Sailor Pluto.

Pluto had her own calculations to make. She knew Magnetite could teleport, but not indefinitely; he was not as strong as Kunzite or the other generals had been. He would want to keep teleporting at first, spending energy lavishly to reduce the odds against him. She could help keep him on the move, and her comrades on their feet, with several well-placed shots.

But she had only one rod left, with a limited number of shots. It was much to her advantage to get up close and personal. Ideally she and Akane would engage him physically while Sailor Moon attacked from range. Eventually he would be too weak to dodge or teleport, and then Akane could hold him alone while she and Moon could focus fire him down.

But she could not see that becoming possible. She had seen the details on the way here, knew where this fight led. It would come down to the principals, in a hand-to-hand fight.

She let Akane attempt the first move, a flying leap, then followed with a leap of her own in a different direction, firing a Dead Scream in yet a third, taking a chunk out of the ceiling. It landed right where Magnetite was about to appear, a full hit weakening Magnetite's shields before he vanished again. Sailor Moon stood ready with her tiara, looking for an opening.

Akane lunged and whirled looking for Magnetite, who appeared right behind her, then rapidly all around her, preventing Pluto from dropping more of the ceiling on him long enough to hit the Tendo girl with strikes to the abdomen and neck. One down.

Sailor Moon threw her tiara, keeping it circling about the chamber. If she were lucky, she guessed, she might hit Magnetite as he flickered about. But he appeared right behind her, near the ceiling. Pluto's shot naturally took out a chunk above him as he ported down right in front of Moon, nose to nose. She flinched back, just in time to get a glancing hit from the falling rock, dazing her. He did a leg sweep to take her off her feet. Two down.

"Now it's just us, MISS Saotome," Magnetite said. He gestured to the bronze rod in Pluto's hands, now smoking and bending in her grip. "And look... it seems your staff has worn out. Tsk. If only you had better materials. Can you fight me unarmed?"

Pluto cast the rod to the ground and assumed a stance. "I won't need it. Stop running around and let's finish this MAN to MAN!"

"As you wish!" Magnetite had expended enough energy on teleports; now he could use his powers to match his enemies on their own, lower level. He dared not summon the Time Key Staff against her, not with the risk it might recognize her dominance over it more than his, but his own power could make do. He channeled dark power into his body, becoming much stronger and faster. He and Pluto leapt at the same time, and the true dance of the fates began.

His power gave him several times normal stength and speed. Against another opponent it would have been decisive. But this martial artist wearing Sailor Pluto's body was trained to deal with such highly advantaged opponents. She quickly matched him blow for blow, holding her own defensively, getting in the occasional jab and punch.

Matching Magnetite did not come without cost. Pluto's heart raced like a jackhammer, her arms and legs were becoming leaden, her lungs screamed for air, but still she kept up the pace, trying to avoid instant death. Every second became agony.

But she had hope. She knew Magnetite was paying his own price. The magical enhancement was drawing down his own power reserves, if at a slower pace than teleporting. But she could see that he had the advantage in stamina. Alone, she might weaken him critically, but she would need help to finish him.

Sailor Moon was now getting up, rubbing the back of her head, reaching for her tiara lying a few feet away. She would have had sharp words for Pluto about watching where she was firing, but the battle before her quickly captured her fascination. She watched in fear as Pluto was slowly forced back against Magnetite, falling back around the perimeter of the chamber, then stepping inside in circles. Circles that gradually grew tighter, working her way into a single point, between Moon and the exit that led to the prison. The air had grown very hot with the energy released in the fight.

"You disappoint me, Saotome-chan," Magnetite gloated. "With your powers, you should be winning. Lady Pluto always did, even hand to hand like this. You haven't mastered her powers as well as you claimed. What would she say now if she could see your defeat?"

"The same as I'm about to say," Pluto said, voice like ice, throwing a telegraphed uppercut at Magnetite, who easily dodged his head back, leaving her punching empty air. "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"

The hot air of the room exploded in violence. Magnetite was picked up off his feet, tornado-force winds smashing him against the curve of the ceiling, keeping him pressed there at an angle, as if reclining on a hillside upside down.

"NOW, SAILOR MOON!" Pluto shouted. She stood there in the eye of the storm, keeping her fist aloft, sustaining the wind for she alone would know how long.

Moon took the cue, winding up her attack. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

The light blazed across the cavern, catching Magnetite fully. He gritted his teeth in pain, moaned, screamed. But he did not plead coherently. He raised his hand from the ceiling, only to have it pressed back there, by the wind or the force of the light wasn't clear.

Sailor Moon had grown in power greatly since Jadeite had proven able to stop her tiara, but she had no idea how powerful this Magnetite was, or what it might take to defeat him. She had to imagine it was a lot. She dared not hold back. She had to give this everything she had. She squeezed her eyes shut, drowned out all sound, and reached into herself, pouring out her very soul, keeping the blast of light going far longer than she ever had before, longer than she would have thought possible.

The walls and ceiling of the cavern had suffered in the fight, sections blasted out by energy blasts, the whole structure weakened, leaving cracks everywhere. Now the cracks spread, small sections falling loose. The pressure from the guinzuishou was wearing away at the rock. The wind and the light might have been the only things keeping it up, and they could not do so forever.

Magnetite lifted his hand again, this time making a gesture and muttering a short chant before it was pressed back to the ceiling. The ground beneath Sailor Pluto erupted as if she had been standing on a land mine. She flew up into the storm herself, slamming her into Magnetite, pressing the two mortal enemies together.

The power of the guinzuishou was searing. Pluto stifled a scream of her own, knowing this was the end of the line for her. She would die, but she would take Magnetite with her. To do that, she could not let Sailor Moon know that she had been taken up with him.

Each second was an eternity of pain. It felt as if her body were dissolving, her very soul torn apart. There was a feeling of dissonance, as if she were in two places at once, looking out with two sets of senses, and then she was going numb, the light was fading at last, and she knew no more.

Magnetite had been losing power fast under direct assault by the guinzuishou's light; his ploy had been desperate, but it had worked, somewhat. Sailor Pluto's body shielded him just enough to preserve some power. There was one thing he could do, hideously expensive under the circumstances but the only way to survive. He bowed to the inevitable, reaching out with his power and taking the only option left.

Eventually, Sailor Moon reached the end of her power and fell to the ground, looking up deliriously at the two figures pressed against the ceiling, held there by her light. She passed out in exhaustion, the light fading, the winds dying out, the figures starting to fall.

About half the ceiling fell with them.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Yes, I'm not fond of Mousse. Or Cologne, usually, though in this fic she's an ally. Canonically, well, Shampoo doesn't hate Mousse THAT much, and in a more traditional line he would die bravely but foolishly trying to get her away from Beryl...

Then again, the fic isn't done yet. We all know how these things work by now: Are they really so dead? And if they are, will they STAY dead?

Granted, I took some liberties with Anthy. She's in a rather unusual situation for her, and would much prefer to get back to dealing with her suitors. Although, on deeper consideration, probably it should be Akio coming to help...

Strictly speaking, the Utena anime occurs on a more metaphysical plane than most. If one had to place Ohtori Academy on a map, I tend to think of it as being in the south of Japan, on the Pacific coast, though the western coast is also arguable. For proposes of this fic I am putting it in Osaka prefecture. There's also a good case for the Inland Sea.

This, of course, suggests another crossover. Tenchi at Ohtori! Can the Sword of Dios stand against a lightsaber? Anthy in the Tenchi Harem - somehow, I think she fits right in...


	28. The Fall of Jusenkyo

Chapter 28: The Fall of Jusenkyo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo felt a tremor through the ground. "This place is still a little unstable after that earthquake," she said. "We should be more careful..."

Tatewaki Kuno was carrying Sailor Mercury, who was still dazed after the fight at the nexus. "Tis better to move forward. We know only the enemy lurks behind us, but our comrades in arms are somewhere ahead. And we risk being buried even if we stand still."

The sealing of the entrances to the nexus chamber had trapped the Senshi and Nerimans in two tunnels; they had spent a few minutes trying to meet up again, fighting their way through two packs of youma to do so. Now they were making their way around the nexus chamber, looking for a safe spot away from any youma.

Venus didn't like moving forward blindly. "Mercury? Do you feel up to tracking the others? I don't want to miss them by a wrong turn and end up in Beryl's face without them."

Mercury activated her visor and hit a few keys on her computer from her position in a fireman's carry on Tatewaki's back. "There's supposed to be a large cave up ahead. The prisoner room is that way too, about two hundred meters beyond."

That was an important goal to Tatewaki; he had come in hopes of winning Akane Tendo's love by rescuing her family. He picked up the pace. "Onward! We shall free the captives and get them safely back to their home before we finish this battle against evil!"

"Wait up!" Venus said. "We don't want to walk into another collapse!"

"Maybe the collapse has meant all the unstable earth around here has already fallen," Neptune speculated. "Things might be safer now."

Venus' communicator beeped. It was Jupiter. "Hey, Pluto, are you there? We want to the end of the tunnel like you said, and there's a split. Which way do we go?"

There was no response for a minute. "Ummm... maybe Ranchan's busy," Ukyo said. "Mercury, can you find them?"

"Now THIS worries me," Venus said as Mercury consulted her instruments. "If even Pluto can't answer..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Jupiter looked down the two tunnels before her, unwilling to move without Pluto's advice. Ryoga wasn't so cautious. "Let's just go this way," he said, starting down the right tunnel.

Jupiter grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Oh, no you don't! You're famous for getting lost, and we don't need to be any more lost than we are right now. We wait for Ranma."

"Feh. I don't get lost anymore, HE saw to that. And I'm not hanging on his every word. I'll find my own way."

Jupiter was saved when her watch beeped. But the voice was Venus, not Pluto. "Ummm ... Pluto must be in a fight right now," she said. "What about your map? Are you getting close to the prison yet? There should be a bunch of tunnels on it in that area."

"Ummm... we kinda lost it," Jupiter admitted sheepishly. "How close are you? Can Mercury get a fix on us?"

"You guys are at a Y-junction, right?" Mercury said. "Go left. That should be the fastest way to us. Watch out for youma. There are a few on your way."

"Gotcha!" Jupiter snapped her watch shut. "You see? We can't wander around blind here. At least now we know where we're going."

"Yeah, sure," Ryoga said sullenly, following Jupiter back to the junction and down the other path.

It soon opened into a large room, its far end lost in darkness. Ryoga pulled out his flashlight and tried to light the way ahead of them. There seemed to be a formation of rocks ahead they would have to move around. "They're probably hiding behind those," Jupiter said. "Do we go around? Or surprise them by going over?"

"We go THROUGH!" Ryoga ran up to the rocks and jabbed a finger for a Breaking Point strike. unfortunately, the finger merely sank into the 'rocks'. They did not feel like stone. More like leathery flesh. "Uh ohhh..."

The formation roared and came to life, turning to face them with a massive horned head. It focused blue eyes on the two and roared again. Jupiter didn't recognize the species, but she knew what she was facing. "A DINOSAUR!"

Ryoga had little more respect for room-sized monsters than for a destructible formation of rocks. "Let me handle this. HYAA!" He lashed out with his umbrella, only to have it bend, then with fists and open palms.

Everything just seemed to make the dinosaur angrier. It rammed into Ryoga, throwing him ten feet back. Beign tough himself, he simply got up and dusted himself off. "Okay, maybe this will take a while..."

"That's probably my cue," Jupiter said. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

The powered-up attack had no effect at all. Indeed, the creature's horn now glowed with power, then began crackling with lightning of its own generation. The blast knocked both of them off their feet and left them tingling.

"Just our luck, it has lightning powers," Jupiter said. "RRRUUUUNNNN!"

They ran, heading back into the tunnel, then turning the left way Ryoga had tried to go originally. They paused some distance up the tunnel, looking behind them. "We should be safe from it now," Ryoga said. "It's too big to follow this way."

Jupiter turned her gaze to the darkness ahead. "Yeah, but now it looks like we gotta go the long way."

They feared they were trapped when they came to a collapsed section, but it proved possible to climb over the rubble. On the other side the eventually merged with a larger tunnel. Jupiter turned and headed up the other branch.

"Now it looks like you're coming down with my old sense of direction," Ryoga said. He pointed the way forward, continuing as they had been going. "Shouldn't we keep heading this way?"

"I have to wonder if Ranma really cured you permanently," Jupiter countered. "We had to change directions, so we were going AWAY from Ranma. Now we gotta change back to go TOWARD him again."

"If you say so," Ryoga said, following her. "I'm still kinda new to this sense-of-direction thing. I'll trust someone who's always had one."

"Well, it is kinda confusing down here," she said. "But at least there aren't too many curves around here."

Some distance up the tunnel Ryoga stopped her again. He peered into the darkness. "I thought I saw movement up ahead."

"Time to light things up. SUPREME THUNDER!" The bolt arced a long way down the tunnel, revealing (and stunning) a pair of humanoid figures.

They raced ahead to get a better look. The stunned figures were youma. Jupiter charged up to finish them off. "SPARKLING WIDE... uhh..."

She paused as more youma emerged from a side tunnel just ahead. Two, four, six, ten ... they just kept coming. Several were armored in metal or crystal, with barbaric weapons.

"Oh crap."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The left side of the cave as they entered was fallen. Dust still clouded the air. "Looks like this was that tremor," Venus said. "What a mess."

A few glowing rocks on the intact side gave dim lighting to the cave. From their arrangement, there had been more on the fallen side. The dust absorbed much of the low light they provided. Ukyo shone her flashlight around the place, handing a few more around to the group. These helped them make out details of the cave, and showed a body against the intact wall.

"AKANE!" Tatewaki Kuno rushed to her, cradling her in his arms. "Akane! Light of my life! Oh gods, please, do not let this be the end of her..."

"Whaaa..." Akane said weakly. "Whadd're you doin' here baka... thought you'd be dead..."

The Kuno boy hugged her tightly. "Thank the gods! Akane, I shall never let you go again. To think, if they had slain you, they would in that instant have slain me as well, for I could no more live without you than if my heart were ripped from my chest..."

His sister bonked him. "The youma need do nothing to her, if you keep holding her so. You will crush her in that sort of grip." She then grabbed Akane's gi and shook her. "Was my Ryoga-sama here? Was he involved in your battle? Is he under that pile of rubble?" She turned toward the rubble, a worried look on her face, unable to dig quickly with only one good arm, the other having been dislocated and reset earlier.

Venus could admire these Kunos guy for wearing his heart on his sleeve, but really didn't want to be subjected to their emoting at a serious time like this. An instant later she was willing to forgive them as she spied a figure much more important to her near the edge of the rubble farther on in the cave.

"SAILOR MOON!" Venus and Mercury rushed to the side of their princess, brushing off dust, checking for breathing and pulse. She sighed in relief as she found them. "Princess... If Sailor Moon is out like this, then... what about..."

"RANCHAN!" Ukyo was suddenly a flurry of action, digging in the rubble to free another body. "Ranchan... what happened to you... Help me! Everybody! Help me get him loose!"

Neptune and Venus moved to help. Ukyo soon pulled him free and began brushing the dust off. He was covered in scrapes and bruises. "Ranchan... no... don't die on me..."

"He's detransformed," Venus said. "And a guy. What happened here? Did that general do this?"

Ukyo was in tears. Venus realized it was the first time she had seen the okonomiyaki chef cry. "He... he said the curses are broken in death... please, Ranchan... please don't be dead..." She held her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

Mercury scanned him with her computer. "He's alive,' she finally said, "just barely. No broken bones, but his vital signs are very weak. I think it's safe to move him. We need to get him to a hospital right away. I'm not sure he'll make it without care."

"What about Sailor Moon?" Venus asked.

"She looks better," Neptune said. "Maybe she was just energy drained..."

Mercury turned her computer on the Moon Senshi. "She looks okay. She's just exhausted, I think. She needs to rest and recover energy."

"All right," Venus said, assuming command. "We're pulling out for a while. Can you map out -"

"HUMANS!" A shout came from the tunnel Venus' group had entered from. Several youma had appeared there. "DIE!"

"Dammit!" Venus pointed a finger. "Crescent Beam!" She held the beam for several seconds, bombarding the tunnel entrance. She began to feel faint herself. "We have to move! Now!"

Tatewaki Kuno started carrying Akane Tendo on his back. Venus and Neptune took Sailor Moon between them. Ukyo dragged Ranma as best she could. "How do we get out of here?"

"There's only the one entrance left!" Mercury said. "The others are blocked! We have to fight our way back to the last branch!"

"Dammit!" Ukyo swore. "If Ranchan were awake, he could tunnel..."

"How many youma are around here?" Venus said. She moved to look over Mercury's shoulder at the map displayed on the computer. Senshi communicator transponders were marked in blue. Venus did not like the angry red youma dots all around them.

"Lots," Mercury confirmed. "We have to move fast if we want to get away!"

"What's that one?" Venus said, trying to move as fast as she could while she and Neptune carried Sailor Moon between them. She had noticed a purple dot in a complex of rooms not far away.

"A portal," Mercury said. "But we don't know where it leads -"

"Away from here!" Venus said. "That's good enough for me!" She opened her watch. "Mars! How are you guys doing?"

"We started heading for Japan, as Pluto ordered," Mars said. "We haven't had anything we couldn't handle so far. We stopped to let you guys catch up. We seem to be in a safe place at the moment."

Venus grit her teeth. They were not going to like this. "Don't wait up for us. We're running on empty, we can't deal with all the youma around us, and there's a portal nearby. We'll lose pursuit on the other side. We'll have to contact you when we can."

The communicator was silent for a few seconds. "The portal we're going to isn't Tokyo. I think it ends up in Osaka prefecture..."

Venus cursed again. "Well, get out anyway. We can make our way back to Tokyo later. Right now we have to get away from these youma."

"Understood. Be safe..."

Venus closed her watch. She hefted Sailor Moon on one shoulder. "We're going to get cut off if we don't get moving fast. I just hope that portal doesn't drop us in the middle of the Pacific..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You gotta be kidding!" Uranus raged. "We come all this way and now we're just going to LEAVE? We should stay and finish them!"

"That's not what we came for," Mars countered. "We came for the Saotomes and Tendos, and we have them. We can come back and defeat them once and for all some other day."

"So naive. They'll be ready for anything we can throw at them next time. We won't get another chance like this." She started heading back the way they had come.

Nabiki stood in her path. "Your chance is GONE," she said sternly. "They're already on alert. You guys aren't going to get through now."

"And Ranma told you to help us get back to Japan," Kasumi said. "After all I've seen him do, I think he knows you'll be needed."

Uranus shook her head. "I don't know what you've seen him do, but he hasn't exactly done a great job running this show that I've seen. I think he's out of his depth right now." She gave Mars a hard look. "You can see these guys back to Japan. You know the way. I don't think you'll face anything you can't handle alone. I'm going to help the main team." She slid past Nabiki, only to be blocked again by Shampoo.

"You no leave," the Amazon warrior said. "Ranma say you come with us, you come."

"I'd think you'd want to go with me. You're a warrior, aren't you? You've been with them from the beginning. You know how important it is to beat these guys. What do you say?"

Shampoo was unmovable. "You no go."

"Try and stop me."

Seconds later, Uranus was flat on the ground, Shampoo straddling her, holding a sword at her throat. "You is thousand years too early to challenge Amazon womans. You come."

Uranus glared in anger, then averted her gaze. "Feh. Fine. Have it your way. I still think we should go now."

They were interrupted by cries of fear from the tunnel in the direction Uranus had wanted to go, back toward the prison and core area. All present turned to see Ryoga and Sailor Jupiter running toward them at top speed. Dozens of youma were behind them.

The whole party joined in. Nabiki struggled to keep up with Uranus. "Well, Ranma said you'd be needed. Go on. You hold them off."

"Yeah, right." Nabiki took the quick dismissal as an admission of defeat. Ranma had apparently been right again. She wished she could be there when he stopped doing that.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Beryl looked through her crystal ball, a smile creeping across her face as she saw one group of Senshi being chased far away. Likely they would make it to a portal, but at least they were getting out of her realm. They would not find getting back in so easy, now that she knew they could teleport. She had ways of dealing with that.

She shifted her view to the teams tightening the noose around Venus' group. They were herding them toward Magnetite's labs. There should be no way out from there. Many of those now at the lead had been equipped by Magnetite himself with metal or crystal armors and weapons. That should be more than enough to defeat whatever powers were brought to bear against them.

A small group of youma now entered the throne room, a captive held between them. A captive Beryl had been waiting for. "Queen Beryl-sama! We bring the human as ordered."

"You are late." Beryl rose from her throne and stalked toward the group. Tuxedo Mask was covered in dust. Blood flowed from a cut on his head. She cradled his face in her hands, looking into his eyes. They were unfocused. "And he is injured! This is unforgivable!"

"Queen Beryl-sama! There was an earthquake, we were caught in a - AUGGHH!" The youma was not allowed to finish its explanation. Beryl wasn't interested. She dissolved the youma to dust with a blast of dark power.

She motioned other youma attendants to pick him up. They followed her to a specially prepared side room, where they laid him on a cushioned dais. Beryl began passing her hands over the still human form.

He shifted, dirt disappearing, cuts beginning to close up. His clothing changed, tuxedo replaced by enamelled armor, blackened steel chased with silver decorations. His cape became black inside and out.

"Endymion... at last, after all these centuries... now, you are mine..." Beryl became lost in her incantations, forgetting the pursuit of the Senshi for the moment. They were safely dealt with. She had a more important matter before her now. She finally had her prince to do with as she pleased.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Are you sure there's no youma down here?" Venus asked. She moved carefully down the branch tunnel, expecting an ambush at every step. There were several doorways down its length.

"There are no youma signs ahead," Mercury confirmed. "The portal should be in the last room on the left."

Venus looked into the room immediately to their right. It had bookcases, cabinets, diagrams on the walls, benches packed with strange apparatus. There were many crystal objects or assemblies, frequently glowing. Other benches had glassware filled with various colored liquids. "This has got to be some kind of laboratory. Kodachi, can you whip up any medicines with this stuff? Or more of your poisons?"

The Kuno girl held up a jar filled with a yellow powder, indicating the label. "Can you read these markings?"

"Can't you? I don't know anything about chemistry. Not going to like taking that in high school..."

"It certainly isn't Japanese," Neptune offered. "Or any human script, I think. The Dark Kingdom must have its own language."

"One we don't have time to learn," Kodachi finished.

"Right, right..." Venus ducked out of the lab and continued down the hall.

Another room contained a large cylindrical apparatus, hinged to open and covered with magical symbols and circles. It seemed further surrounded by a dark shield and a web of humming energies. "I'd have to think something dangerous is in there," Ukyo speculated. "Probably some super-youma they're working on. Maybe we can sabatoge it ..." Her eyes began scanning the room, looking for something vulnerable, like a power cable.

"No time," Mercury said. "The youma are getting closer. We have to get out!"

They rushed down the hall, fortunately meeting no surprises. The chamber on the left at the end was covered in glowing magical circles and patterns, with a portal against one wall and some crystal apparatus nearby. "Well, this looks kinda special. Maybe it goes somewhere really dangerous. Full of monsters or something."

"Or a plane of existence full of energy. We'd be fried if we went through." Mercury was trying to scan the portal with her computer and visor, to no avail. "It's no good. There's too much interference. I can't see what's on the other side."

"Only one thing to do, then. VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!" Venus sent her chain through and pulled it back. It was unaffected.

"What is that?" Mercury took the chain in hand to examine it. "Summoned metal? Probably magically charged. I don't know if it means anything about what would happen to us..."

"Do not be so timid," Tatewaki Kuno said impatiently. He thrust his sword through, then his arm. Both came back intact. "Nothing to fear."

"Right, then," Venus said. She plunged through.

The cave on the other side was chillier than the tunnels they had been in, though not as bad as the open ice of the polar region. The cave opened into a mountain crag above a moonlit valley. The floor of the valley seemed to be a bamboo swamp. There were no youma in evidence.

Venus returned through the portal. "All clear. Let's go!"

Mercury summoned enough strength to fog the corridor before going through. Tatewaki Kuno dropped off Akane at the portal and closed the steel double doors. Unfortunately there was nothing to bar them with. He held his blade at the ready. "I shall go last. Make haste!"

They did. On the other side, the group surveyed the scene. "So where do you think we are?" Venus asked.

"It's a swamp..." Neptune mused. "All the other portals were to populated areas. There must be something they want here."

"Maybe a training or testing ground for youma?" Mercury offered.

Ukyo looked carefully at the valley floor. Recognition dawned. "Jusenkyo! All these pools with bamboo poles in them... that was Ranma's description of Jusenkyo! Come on!"

"Hey!" Venus yelped as Ukyo grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back through the portal, opening the communicator watch. "Do you MIND!"

Ukyo ignored her for the moment. "Mars! Uranus! Are you still down here? Is Shampoo still with you? Pick up!"

Mars' voice came back, out of breath. "What's happened? Are you going to be all right?"

"The portal we found goes to Jusenkyo! We need to know how to get to the Amazon village!"

Now Shampoo's voice responded. "South end of valley, road to west. Three mile. Ask for soap and lotion."

"Gotcha!" They darted back through the portal and rejoined the others in the crag.

The sky was clear enough to make out stars. Ukyo tried to remember her celestial navigation. "There's the Big Dipper... that must be north... we're on the west side, so... this way!" She started moving south, Neptune helping to carry Ranma again.

They had gotten barely fifty yards when a harsh voice came behind them. "Halt! You shall not escape the wrath of Gamon!"

Ukyo turned to see a figure in crystal armor, holding a blade with motes of orange light dancing along its length. Tatewaki Kuno could not pass up the chance to be noble. "You shall not pass me. Come, creature! Face your doom!"

"Die well, brother," Kodachi said as she rushed down the valley. "I shall enjoy sleeping in your room from now on!"

The two swordsmen met blade to blade, sparks erupting at the point of contact. Kuno felt the heat radiating from his opponent's weapon, and the hilt of his own growing unbearably hot. The wrappings burst into flame, the blade bent and broke, leaving him open to a vicious slash to the chest. "Ha! Your weapon's magics were inferior! As your skills shall also prove to be!"

"A notion I must disabuse you of... on the morrow." He turned to catch up with the others.

The ball of sea-green energy flew past him without warning. Neptune had not called out her attack this time; perhaps after using it so often in the last few hours she no longer had need. It crashed against the youma's armor, but did not destroy it. It began to regain its feet.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ukyo rushed to the youma and whacked it with her spatula. It went rolling down the mountainside into a pool. Seconds later a rabbit hopped out. Ukyo beat it mercilessly and covered it in rocks. "That ought to hold you for a while."

The group took no chances, moving as fast as their burdens allowed. "What did Shampoo mean, ask for soap and lotion?" Venus asked.

Ukyo shrugged. "She must have as much dirt on her as we do. God knows I need a bath." She looked down at Ranma, seemingly dead weight in her arms. "Hold on, Ranchan. Just stay with me, we'll be safe and warm soon..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"We're almost there!" Mars said breathlessly. There was only darkness ahead, but Mars knew the portal was in that darkness, and safety beyond. "It goes into a bakery! Get ready to block the entrance!"

There was still a small army of youma following them, but they had opened up some distance. Mars turned and fired one last blast to keep them back a few seconds longer. "Burning Mandala!"

"World Shaking!" Uranus' blast followed the rings of fire. Together, the attacks thinned the herd of youma, taking out a few unarmored ones, but there were several in crystal or metal armors or carrying shields. The wave paused, then resumed the advance.

Ryoga had a way to slow them down more forcefully. He poked the sides and roof of the tunnel, causing the earth to erupt, blocking the tunnel with rubble. "That should stop them." He now found himself in a pitch black tunnel. "Ummm... where is everyone?"

A feminine hand grabbed his own wrist and led him to someplace a bit warmer than the Dark Kingdom. The lights were on, revealing the back room of a bakery. Mars was leading his way. Soun and Genma moved to cover the portal behind him with a large metal cabinet.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Uranus exploded. She grabbed Ryoga by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. "The way is blocked! How are we supposed to get back with the others now?"

Ryoga was not about to be fazed by a girl's anger. "Martial arts move me and Ranma learned a while back. Long story."

"He can use the same move to get around the block," Jupiter said, trying to defuse the situation.

"If they don't clear it first," Mars added. "Which they will. We should get a move on."

Uranus released Ryoga and seemed to calm down. "You can at least tell me about stuff like that." She stalked out to the street, following the Tendos and Saotomes.

"Geez," Ryoga mused. "Where did Ranma find her? She seems a little high-strung."

"I think she isn't actually supposed to be with us..." Mars admitted.

On the street outside, the civilians were looking disappointed. "This doesn't look like Tokyo," Kasumi said.

"We're near Hiroshima," Ryoga said. "I recognize the place." He started heading toward the waterfront.

"Ranma said it was around Osaka," Mars said. "And the place we want is up the hill."

"Haven't been here since you got a sense of direction, have you?" Nabiki smirked. Ryoga merely scowled.

They were all groaning from the climb when they reached the gates of the academy. Anthy was waiting just inside. "Welcome to Ohtori Academy. Is this all of you?"

"Half of us had to get out another way," Mars said.

"Need phone," Shampoo said.

"It's almost dawn as it is," Anthy observed. "You look exhausted. When was the last time you got any sleep?"

"I'm about ready to conk out," Nabiki said. "Where's the cheapest motel in this town?"

"The east dorm is unoccupied right now. I'm sure you can stay for a night without anyone noticing."

That was the best news Mars had heard all day. A warm shower and bed were her idea of heaven right about now.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In a vault in the Dark Kingdom, a heavily shielded containment vessel hissed and opened. Its occupant gingerly stepped out from its rest.

Magnetite was looking much the worse for wear. His uniform was scorched, his face and hands looked rubbed raw. He felt far worse: Most of his energy had been stripped away. He could barely walk as it was.

He grimaced as he recalled the battle. His ploy of using Sailor Pluto's body as a shield for the energies of the guinzuishou had been partially effective, just enough to allow him to channel a teleport. It had still been hideously expensive under the circumstances, but it was the only way to survive. For the moment. He might yet fall to Beryl's wrath.

As far as he could determine, though he had injured a few Senshi, he had killed none, captured none. He could not go before Queen Beryl without the Senshi imprisoned or dead. But without power, he could not face them again.

There were two youma in the hall, standing guard at the doors to the room where he had tuned an adjustable portal to Jusenkyo. The doors had been knocked down. "What has happened here? The Senshi -?"

"Ah. Lord Magnetite," the youma on the left sneered at him. There was no respect in her voice. "I can't imagine Beryl will be happy with you. It seems thanks to you, the Senshi were able to escape. When were you going to tell the Queen about this portal?"

*So they DID go through here,* he thought. "I informed the Queen of it before I set it up. She approved of it. How many youma have gone after them?"

"Half a dozen, but they have all come back with some type of magical infection. We await the further orders from the Queen."

There were sounds coming from his other labs, sounds that should not be there. "These are MY laboratories. I will not have clumsy youma barging about. I shall have the Queen withdraw you."

"The Queen is indisposed. Some business of hers and someone named 'Endymion'. You will have to wait until she is finished."

*So the Earth prince has been delivered to her.* He could well imagine what Beryl was doing with him. A potential new rival, just when all the old ones had finally left the scene. He had to move quickly and deliver the Senshi or proof of their deaths. Fortunately, with Beryl occupied there should be no one to challenge his authority here. "That leaves me in charge here. I will ensure these rooms are secure."

The youma searching his labs were not happy, but bent to his authority. Lucky for him that obedience was ingrained; right now, with the little recovery his survival chamber had afforded him, he was little more powerful that any one of them. He listened patiently as they grudgingly gave him a report on the situation.

The picture they painted just seemed to get worse and worse. "So let me get this straight... we haven't killed ANY of them for certain? They have escaped with the prisoners, and there has been no word from our converts?"

"That is so," the lead youma reported.

"It sounds to me as if Beryl will have plenty of targets for her wrath," Magnetite mused. "But Beryl does have Endymion, and the invasion has been repelled. I would not expect them to be back via the portals they left through. They must also recover their own strength. We have time to prepare a counterattack. And we know where they live, or lived, so they must remain on the run. The ones that went through the portal here, in particular..."

He had opened the portal to Jusenkyo following the descriptions of Happosai and Mousse. After an initial trip, he had created a small cave to hide the portal and moved the other end in there for security, then done a perfunctory investigation of the area. He had wanted to do a more thorough investigation, especially as he began to remember more about the pools - in particular, that he had set them up, and the map of the power loci he had used.

Power! He still needed it badly. And the power of Jusenkyo was still fundamentally Dark Power, still compatible with him. And as long it it was there to be had...

"Remain on guard here. I will search out the Senshi. They will not be able to leave the region quickly. And we may have possible allies in the area..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Dawn breaks over a remote valley in China, sparkling the morning frost. It is a cold clear winter day, usually one of the more peaceful days in this place of violence and death. This is the off-season for tourists generally, and those who seek to train here also prefer warmer months. But today is not to be one of those peaceful days. Indeed, it is to be the most violent day in memory.

The dead spirits of the Pools of Jusenkyo are about to go about their normal daily spiritual business when a man appears at the edge of the pools, coming not from the road to the south but the slopes to the west. His clothing is of military cut, but strangely not one of the Mao suits that are standard for this country. None desire to take this man as host: all sense the aura of darkness about him. None has been here long enough to know who he is, but they know he walks a road of doom.

Their dread is soon proven well founded. He stands at the edge of the springs, peers strangely into the air, eyes settling on the spirits within view, one by one. He sees them, his gaze going right through them, and he sneers at them. He stretches forth a hand, sending tendrils of power to interact with the lines and patterns of force that form the magical substructure of the cursed springs. Under his caresses, those patterns begin to unravel like a badly knit scarf.

The first sector, covering perhaps a dozen springs, dissolved in chaos; the man drinks in the energies released, and the souls as well. Panic spreads among the rest. Animals run to and fro frantically, their instinct to flee as from a forest fire, but they are trapped, bound to their springs. The intelligent beings are in a worse position: they know they cannot escape, and if this man means to eat all of them, then there is nothing they can do but pray for some angel to come and save them. And so pray they do.

After the second sector has gone their prayers are answered. The angels come. They float to earth on suitably large wings, one dark of skin and one light, both carrying spears. The dark one is first to speak. "You there! ...How do you make lights like that?"

The man does not pause his work until he is finished with the sector. Then he turns and looks hard at the newcomers, studying them with that penetrating gaze. "Bird men?" he mutters. "Really? Some taint of the Springs...?" Aloud to the angels, "Just a little trick I picked up. And who might you gentlemen be?"

"I'm Koruma," the dark one says.

"I'm Masara," the light names himself. "We're from Mount Phoenix." He points to a tall mountain beyond the southern road and river, a few miles from the valley.

"Ah. I see. You may call me Magnetite. I come from a kingdom far to the north. I am interested in studying this region - these springs, and the people who live near them. Do you know anything of magic, or chi abilities? With all the martial artists that come here, I would think a few..."

"Not really," Koruma says. "You'd have to ask our chamberlain, or Lord Saffron."

"Lord Saffron has a lot of power," Masara says. "He can do something like those lights you did."

"Lord Saffron couldn't do something like that!"

"When we were kids, dummy! Before he was reborn!"

"Oh, yeah."

The human, if human he truly is, shines a charming smile at the angels. A strange glint appears in his eyes. "Mount Phoenix... because a phoenix drowned there? It has a spring like the ones here? I would not have thought the enchantment extended that far. Although... if the water table shifted... I suppose it might be possible... I should like to visit your Mount Phoenix. Take a look at your pools."

The two angels look at each other. "Do you think we should?" the Koruma asks.

"We're not supposed to lead strangers to us!"

"But this guy may be like Prince Saffron. They might be alike."

"He's still a stranger."

"I was a resident of these parts once," Magnetite says easily. "Long ago, I admit ... much seems to have changed... and this Prince Saffron of yours sounds like a man I might have much in common with..."

"Child," the dark angel says. "He's still a child right now."

The man nods. "Then perhaps there are things I can teach him." He smiles again.

"Well..." The two think it over for a minute. "I guess it can't hurt."

The spirits are relieved as the evil man leaves in the company of the angels. But the more intelligent ones now fear an even greater calamity may befall them. They pray again, pray for the return of one of their own, one who always used to remain in the area, but after taking a new host some months ago has strangely not been seen again.

If only the Prophetess were still here...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The chamberlain's eyes bugged out when he saw who was in his library. "A landling! Here!" He gestured to Koruma and Masara. "Arrest him! Take him to the dungeon!"

"But we led him here," Koruma said.

"Yeah, he can make fires just like Lord Saffron!" Masara added.

"Fires? Like lord Saffron? Ricidulous." He turned back to the hall. "Kiima! We have an intruder!"

"They speak true," Magnetite said. He cast a simple elemental cantrip, generating flames to encase his hands. "I know something of sorcery. A good bit that might interest you."

Kiima came in from the hall, her expression severe. "We would only be interested in seeing you gone, landling! You must not defile the halls of the people of the sky!"

"In that case, I belong here as much as you do," he said, stepping out the door to the balcony. It served as a landing pad, having no railing. The drop was at least a hundred feet. Magnetite simply levitated off of it.

The bird-men gawked. "How... how do you do that without wings?" the chamberlain sputtered.

"As I said, I know something of sorcery. Particularly the sorcery that gave your people their wings. I can help you with your little... problem."

The chamberlain paused. If this man could fly, he could be accepted as an equal. But he was still an outsider. "Our problems are not for outsiders to involve themselves in. We can handle our own affairs."

"The problem itself comes from outside," Magnetite said smoothly, "and so it is natural that one who knows matters well beyond this mountain can understand better."

"What problem?" Koruma said, exchanging glances with Masara.

"The dry well," Magnetite answered. "The waters that permeated this mountain have recently dried up, have they not? Your records indicate they were flowing a few decades ago, but now the well is empty. And you need it, don't you?"

"We can get plenty of water from nearby," Kiima said.

"Water, yes, but not with enough magic in it. Your records said your leader, Lord Saffron, required the pure waters of the mountain to undergo his transformation to adulthood and the fullness of his power. This mountain is a locus of power in the area, and so its waters were charged enough to provide for him. But how will he change now, with the waters gone?"

"Hrmph. So you know of our travails. Very well. We were hoping to use the waters of Jusenkyo..."

"But none of the springs is powerful enough," Magnetite said. "You will need another locus of power."

"Jusendo," Koruma said, looking at the chamberlain. "You mentioned a place called Jusendo that one time, didn't you?"

"You thought it would have enough power..." Masara said.

"Have you forgotten EVERYTHING you were taught about keeping our secrets?" the chamberlain burst out. He calmed down and returned to Magnetite. "Yes, Jusendo. The true ultimate source of the waters of the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. It should have enough concentrated power of allow Lord Saffron to change."

"Ah. And do you know where it is, exactly?"

"Ummm... ahhh. no, not exactly. Its location has been lost for thousands of years. But we have some leads! We have been searching for a map..."

"I am your map," Magnetite offered. "I know where Jusendo is. I shall lead you right to it... if you permit."

"Really?" a new voice asked from above. A child's voice. Magnetite turned to see a bird-boy of about ten fly down, dressed in rich silks. "Then you shall take us immediately."

The other bird-men knelt at the boy's arrival. "Lord Saffron!" the chamberlain pleaded. "Forgive us! This outsider..."

"Will be the key to our peoples' salvation, if his claims are true. Gather an escort! We leave at once!"

Kiima wasn't sure they should be trusting someone who just arrived, but Lord Saffron's will could not be questioned. "At once, my lord."

Saffron grinned in anticipation. The time of his transformation would soon be at hand, this year certainly, perhaps as soon as a few months. He was relieved it would not have to be delayed to find Jusendo. If what the stranger said were true, he would be due a reward. Of course, being an outsider who knew entirely too much about the affairs and weaknesses of his people, that reward would be a swift death...

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Michiru yawned and rubbed her eyes. After last night, she still felt half dead. Well, at least it was better than being ALL dead.

The village hut had several cots, all full of people, all still asleep. She had been dead on her feet coming in to the Amazon village. Fortunately they seem to have been expected. An elder and a middle-aged woman had woken in the middle of the night to help them tend to their wounded.

One girl - she believed it was the one they had called 'Akane' - was bandaged about the waist, her right arm in a sling. A boy, Kuno-san, slept next to her, almost on top of her. She wondered if they were engaged.

Ukyo was in a similar position with Ranma, sleeping at his side. He had been cleaned up, and seemed to have only scrapes and bruises, no bandages. Both were breathing steadily.

Kodachi's arm was also in a sling. All of her fellow Senshi had detransformed, as Michiru had; they had a few bandages, but nothing that indicated broken bones. Good news, at least for them. She hoped the other group had fared as well.

The elder came in, looking somewhat like Cologne, a shrunken gnome on a staff. "Ah. You're awake. Feeling better?" Her Japanese, at least, was as good as Cologne's.

"A little, thank you. Is there any breakfast here?"

"Lunch, actually. You've been out half the day. I imagine you will all be ravenous after your exertions. I'll have Soap bring some food."

"Soap? That's a name?"

"My granddaughter. The one who helped bind your wounds last night." She indicated a bandage on Michiru's arm. Michiru recalled having taken a claw slash there at some point. "I am Lo Shun."

Michiru giggled. "Oh! When Shampoo-san told us to ask for Soap and Lotion, we thought..." She remembered her manners. "I am Kaioh Michiru. Pleased to meet you. I hope we won't be a burden on you..."

"It's no trouble. So, you are the famous sailor-suited warriors of love and justice that Cologne has been telling us so much about? How is the old bird, by the way? Why was it her great-granddaughter who called us to warn us of your coming last night, and not Cologne herself?"

"She... didn't get out with the others? I'm not sure where she would be, then. I don't know everything that was happening..."

"Ah. The fog of war. I shouldn't worry too much about it. They won't be able to convert her. The most they can do is kill her, and it's not like we had much time left."

By the time Soap had brought in the food, the others had begun to stir. Tatewaki Kuno quickly demanded better care for Akane. "Are there not better medicines available? And intravenous drip? An oxygen tent? I will spare no expense. Akane Tendo shall be stronger than ever before."

"Does this look like Beijing General Hospital to you?" Lotion asked. "We're a small rural village. We've done what we can. And your girlfriend looks to be in fine shape."

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Akane exploded. "And I'm not fine! I have broken bones. If there are any scars on my face..."

"Psh. I survived worse when I was your age. At least you weren't shot or stabbed."

"Perish the thought!" Tatewaki said. "Twould be an unthinkable tragedy. The world can ill afford to lose such a unique snowflake."

"A unique... snowflake? Hah. That should be an insult. In my experience the truly unique people your age, the ones who stand out and are seen only once in this world, are the UGLY ones. Her face, I've seen on any number of people."

Minako had to throw in her opinion. This subject was her area of expertise. "But it's so tragic. Beauty is so short lived. We have to have fun with it when we can!"

"It will fade for you, maybe," Lotion said, "as it faded for me. And it will show up in someone else. Your face has graced thousands of women before, and will show up in thousands to come. Beauty like yours is always with the world. It's nothing special."

"You're sounding like my grandma," Minako said. "Why is it old people always try to be such downers?"

"I think she's saying it's a renewable resource..." Ami mused.

Ukyo was looking over Ranma. "It sounds like he's breathing well now. Is he going to be okay, do you think? Any internal injuries or anything we should know about?"

"None that we could find," Soap said. "He's especially strong, as Cologne reported. He seems to be perfectly healthy, he just needs rest." She turned to the others. "As for the rest of you... The Council will want to know everything that happened and where everyone is, once you all wake up."

Ami looked at Usagi. "That might be a while. She always wakes up late..."

"I hear she's been known to sleep till noon on Sundays," Ukyo sighed.

"It won't help their recuperation to wake them before they're ready," Lotion said. "Well, we can start with those of you who can move. If we finish before your princess wakes up the Council can come here."

Minako followed Lotion out the door, tiredness falling away quickly. She was very excited to know just what was going on.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The common room of the dorm was full of people who did not belong there. People who did not want to be there. People who would not say any longer than they had to.

The three Senshi, now in civilian attire, seemed divided, the younger two against the older one, one Nabiki had not heard of before. She didn't seem to hold the more experienced ones in high regard. Or Ranma, especially. Nabiki liked her already.

Their breakfast, or lunch given the lateness of the hour, had been nothing more than food and drinks from the campus vending machines. Makoto stood up and stretched as she finished hers. "Not much of a meal. I can't wait till we get back home. I need some home cooking." She looked at the Saotomes. The previous night there hadn't been much time for introductions. "So, you guys are Ranma's parents? Pleased to meet you. I'm Makoto."

"Pleased to meet you, Makoto-san," Nodoka said. She turned to Haruka. "And you?"

Haruka was too polite to get angry at her fellow Senshi with outsiders present. Her glance at them seemed entirely calm. "Should we be telling them who we are? We ARE superheroes. I'd think we kinda want to maintain secret identities..."

"A bit late for that," Nabiki said. "We've known about them for a while."

"Well, I'd prefer to keep things professional, myself. You can just call me Uranus."

"I can respect that," Nabiki nodded. She could always find out details like name and address later.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Uranus-san," Nodoka said. "I understand you all have been working with my son? Please, could you tell me what has happened to him? He was splashed with water, and changed into this... woman..."

"The curse of Jusenkyo," Rei said. "It's kind of a long story. Your husband was affected by it too..." She trailed off, expecting Genma to pick it up.

Nodoka knew better. "He's too embarrassed to talk about it. I find it's better to hear about things about him from others."

Haruka rolled her eyes at this. *This family is a real piece of work...*

Rei plunged ahead. The explanation took a few minutes. "... so now, Ranma has a curse that Shampoo was supposed to get."

Nodoka had simply nodded her way through it. "Magic. I have been following the news about you girls, and the youma, and there was talk of magic, but I wasn't sure what to make of it. Thank you for explaining it, Rei-san." She turned to her husband again. "I knew I shouldn't have let you go so easily..."

"Let him go?" Haruka asked.

"He was afraid I might pamper Ranma too much. We came to an agreement. He would raise our son until he was a proper man."

"Yeah, he told us," Makoto said. She wished Ranma had given them some idea what to say to her in case they met, but he had seemed convinced they never would. "Well, other than the curse, he's totally a man. And he's trying to get the curse cured somehow. I wouldn't worry about it."

Haruka didn't think politeness meant telling blatant lies. She just had to phrase things carefully. "Honestly, I only just met the guy. Gal. Whatever. Seemed a pretty good type. But from someone who's supposed to know everything that's coming, I was thinking he's have us all together in one place instead of some of us here and some there. I guess I expected more of him."

"Well, I've known him for a few years," Ryoga countered. "He may be a jerk at times, but he would always give it his best when there was a problem. I wouldn't worry about how things are going now. This is just a setback."

"That's right," Rei said. "If things aren't perfect now, it must be the best he could have done."

"That cuts both ways, doesn't it?" Nabiki pointed out. "You don't have his power any more than I do. I can't say he might have seen a better outcome, but you can't say he didn't."

"Nabiki," Kasumi said, "I know you don't like some of his decisions, ever since that affair with you..."

"Affair?" Nodoka perked up. "You had an affair with my son?" This actually made her look more relieved.

"She was never serious about it," Kasumi said before Nabiki could put in her own indictment. "Ranma knew it. Though, he could have been better about breaking it off ..."

"Then... is he with anyone now? Any of you?" She looked over the Senshi. "Or the others with him?"

"His fiancee is Kuonji Ukyo-san," Rei said. "She's with the other group now."

"His fiancee should be a Tendo!" Soun declared. "That was agreed years before the Kuonji claim!"

"He's got claims all over," Ryoga said. "That womanizer..."

Nodoka seemed to be ecstatic. "Oh, my son is so manly!"

Haruka was starting to wonder if Ranma had bigger problems she ought to be aware of. She gave his mother a measured look. "Ahhh hahhhh..."

"Well, we can sort out Ranma later," Nabiki said. There were now matters she felt could not be put off. "We can't stay here. The youma are going to get through that blockage at some point. We should blow town as fast as possible."

"Where will you go?" Rei asked. "You got kindapped from your own home..."

"Because of that CREATURE," Nodoka said acidly. She turned to her husband. "You should have made certain he was dead."

"We thought we DID!" Genma protested. "If we find some better way, we'll be sure to use it."

"Is there anyplace we know of that he didn't?" Nabiki asked, looking to her father and Genma.

"I'm afraid not," Soun shook his head sadly.

"It's not like this is really a problem," Ryoga offered. "I'm familiar with just about everywhere."

"You've BEEN everywhere in Japan," Nabiki corrected him. "That's not the same as being familiar. You'd have to be able to find your way around them. You could hardly find your way out of a bathroom until recently."

"But he has a point," Genma said. "We shouldn't be afraid to stay someplace new to us. Someplace with no portals or youma activity."

"If Ranma were here, he would tell us where to go," Makoto pointed out.

"But he's not," Nabiki said. "He's with the other group in China right now."

Shampoo had been silent so far; now she spoke up. "Shampoo call village." She headed out to the lobby to use the phone.

"That's right," Rei said. "We need to talk to everyone and find out how they are and what happened to them."

"Things were pretty confused for a while," Haruka said. "We didn't get a good picture of what was going on."

"Once he does give us directions, we'll need to take a bus or train," Nabiki said. "How much do we have to pay for it?"

Nodoka looked in her purse. "I'm sorry. I only have a little grocery money on me. If I'd known we'd need more..."

"I was afraid of that." Nabiki pulled a credit card from a pocket. "Just this once I won't charge interest. Just pay us back when we get home."

Nodoka was surprised. "You have your own credit cards? And you're still in high school?"

"Ahem," Soun said. "Those are MY credit cards. She just carried them because... er... well..."

"She manages our money better than you do, Father," Kasumi finished.

"What's really going to kill us is getting Akane home," Nabiki said.

"And my son," Nodoka said.

"He walked from there once, he can do it again," Nabiki said coldly. "I'd like to get Akane here before she misses any school. I hope they have a truck they can take ..." She looked questioningly at Genma.

He was, as usual, not helpful. "Not that I saw. There were no roads within fifty miles anyway."

At that moment Shampoo waved from the lobby and held up the phone earpiece. "Is Venus. Want to talk."

"Finally," Rei sighed. "We're about to get some answers..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Most, but not all, of the village council were women. Only Lotion looked to be close to Cologne's age, though none of the others could be under seventy. Their faces all seemed to be locked in permanent scowls, as if viewing any dealings with outsiders with distaste. Minako got the impression they were judging her, and none too favorably.

They all sat in an arc of chairs around an office with a fireplace to provide warmth. One of the councillors sat at a desk to one side, taking notes. It looked like any formal war meeting, except no one wore a uniform.

Lotion had taken her seat in the middle of the arc. All of the councillors listened intently as Minako, Ami, Michiru, and the Kunos tried to recall every detail of the battle. They began with the two-pronged invasion and broke down into telling individual viewpoints after their scattering, then became more unified again as they reached the latter stages.

"I recognized the Jusenkyo valley from Ranma's descriptions," Ukyo said. "I got in touch with Mars -"

"You nearly yanked my arm out of the socket to do it," Minako objected.

Ukyo was too weary to counter the accusation. "... and Shampoo gave us directions to here. And that's all we know right now."

"Mmm hmmm," Lotion hummed. "Did you ask anything about their status? Who was present, injuries, deaths, that sort of thing?"

"There wasn't time. We wanted to get away from the portal as fast as we could."

"Understandable," Lotion said. "Well, when Shampoo warned us of your coming last night, she also reported who was with her." She took a paper from the desk and began reading from it. "Mars, Jupiter, Uranus. Someone named Ryoga. Three Tendos, two Saotomes." She looked up. "That leaves Cologne unaccounted for."

"And Tuxedo Mask," Minako said. She turned to Ami. "Did Ranma mention him at all?" The others simply shook their heads.

"Given where the rest of you ended up, he's probably lost in some random city somewhere," Lotion said. "Cologne will be easier to find. She certainly hasn't shown up here so far. If she hasn't made her way to the other group by now, she may be their prisoner."

"Or dead," a man said. "They're probably angry at not getting any confirmed kills by now."

A chill passed through Minako in spite of the warmth of the fireplace. It was true that they were in a dangerous business, fighting a war in which any or all of them might die, but so far none of them had. She had begun to think none of them would.

A child of about ten ran in breathlessly, knelt before the council, and spoke rapidly. The elders listened, then Lotion sent her back out. "It's a report from our lookouts at Jusenkyo," she explained to the Japanese. "We expected them to send youma through looking for you, so we are keeping an eye on the portal. From what's been happening there, we may have picked up a complication."

"Just before dawn, they reported a man at the edge of the pools using fireworks," the man at the desk said, reading from reports. "He was picked up after dawn by two bird-men and flown south to Mount Phoenix. Just before noon, he was seen with a dozen bird-men, including a child, moving north up the valley. They seem to have stopped at the mountain northwest of Mount Kensai."

"That could be Magnetite," Minako said. "We lost track of him after Sailor Moon got split off from us."

"But if he's got flying youma with him," Ami asked, "why doesn't he have them fan out to search the whole area by air?"

"We don't think they were youma," Lotion said. "The report said he went to Mount Phoenix. That mountain is the home of a legendary tribe of bird-men. The mountain has a pool or well of cursed water at its summit, imprinted by one of the birds that fly there. For centuries, the people living there have drawn drinking and bathing water from it. It is no surprise that they have developed birdlike features."

"It *is* troubling that they aren't searching widely," the man in the circle said. "They have settled at the mountain and are standing guard. The general must want something there, and has gotten the bird-men to help him get it."

"So these bird-men you speak of may be subverted?" Tatewaki Kuno guessed. "Or perhaps they are unwilling accomplices? It seems the Dark Kingdom must be short of youma if they must recruit. Our visit has had its impact."

At that moment the desk phone rang. The man seated there talked briefly into it, then spoke loudly to the room: "Shampoo." All attention was suddenly on him as he spoke in Chinese to Shampoo, taking notes quickly.

After a few minutes he tore off the top sheet and handed it to Lotion. "Still no sign of Cologne," she said, reading the report. "No notable injuries to their people. They don't think they can go back home. They want to ask Ranma what to do next."

"I'll handle it," Minako said, taking the phone. "Shampoo? It's Sailor Venus. Can you put Mars on? Thanks. ... Rei-chan? It's Minako."

Rei sounded relieved. "Minako-chan! Kami, it's so good to hear your voice. How are you guys?"

"Eh, we've been better. Akane's hurt, broken arm, some ribs, they have her bandaged up. Kodachi had a dislocated arm, it's in a sling now. Ukyo took some needles in her leg. The rest of us are pretty much just tired."

"What about Ranma? And Usagi? Just tired too?"

"Yeah, Ranma looked like he was nearly dead for a while there, but now he's really bouncing back. They say he'll be fine soon. Usagi, well, you know her, sleeping all day on a normal day -"

"Put Mamoru on."

Minako turned to the door to find Usagi herself standing there. "Ummm, looks like she just got up, actually. Here, talk to her." She handed the earpiece over.

"Hello? Rei-chan? Get Mamoru." Usagi's voice had an edge to it, very urgent.

"He's not with you? He isn't with us..."

"Well, WHERE IS HE?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW, BAKA!"

Minako grabbed the phone away before Usagi could get into one of her shouting matches. "He's probably in some other city, like we all were before we met up!"

Usagi steamed almost visibly for a few seconds. "Well, we all know who to ask about THAT," she finally said, and stormed back out.

"Uh oh," Ukyo said, following quickly after her. "Usagi!"

"Just great," Minako sighed. She brought the earpiece up again. "I'm not sure which one of them will kill the other just now..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Usagi marched across the village grounds back to the infirmary. Ukyo tried to calm her down. "Now, Usagi, he's still very weak. It won't be good for him to slap him around any -"

Usagi noticed a small bowl of water, probably a dog dish. She grabbed it and went inside the infirmary, heading straight for Ranma's bed. "WAKE UP, YOU LAZY JERK! WE NEED YOU! MAMO-CHAN NEEDS YOU! HE'S LOST AND YOU GOTTA FIND HIM!" She splashed the water all over his face.

Ranma got wet.

Usagi and Ukyo stood there for a moment as the fact registered. Eyes bugged out. Jaws dropped. Usagi broke down in hysterics. "NOOOO! CHANGE! YOU GOTTA CHANGE! HOW AM I GOING TO FIND MAMO-CHAN IF YOU DON'T CHANGE! AAHAHAAAHHHGGGGHHHH! MAMO-CHAAAAAAANNNN!"

Ukyo left the moon princess to her tears. She bolted straight back to the town hall.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was ten minutes before Usagi was able to speak semi-intelligibly. The council, and her Senshi, sifted through her babble to figure out what had happened in that cave. "So me and Akane got into this big cave and Magnetite was there, and then Ranma was there, and we started fighting, and Akane got knocked out and I got hit and the next thing I know Ranma was running Magnetite in circles around the cave, and he did that tornado thing and Magnetite got pinned to the ceiling and he told me to fire so I fired. And that's it."

Lotion tried to make sense of her words. "That's all? You just fired and that's the last thing you remember?"

"Well, yeah, basically."

"And that caused the ceiling to collapse."

"Collapse? What are you talking about? Why would it do that?"

"When we found you, the cave had collapsed," Minako said. "You and Akane nearly got buried. Ranma DID get buried, we had to dig him out."

"Huh. Must have been after I passed out, I guess. But that wouldn't - unless... oh no!"

"What?" Ukyo's glare bore into Usagi.

"The last time I used Moon Healing Escalation on some Jusenkyo-cursed people, they were cured. If Ranma got sucked up into the tornado..."

"Then he would have been in the beam as well!" Minako finished. "So he got cured!"

"But didn't you NOTICE?" Ukyo said. "Or did all that light blind you?"

Usagi looked sheepish. "Errr... I guess I kinda shut my eyes..." Everyone groaned at this.

"Cologne told us about the other incident where you cured those cursed people," one of the council women said. "But she also said that Ranma claimed it wouldn't have worked on him."

"At the time, at least," Lotion said. "Perhaps Sailor Moon merely needed to grow in power."

"We are all a lot stronger than we used to be..." Ami offered.

"And I did go full out for about five minutes," Usagi said. "I used up everything I had."

"And passed out," Minako added. "So. Ranma is cured. Now what do we do? Without him we can't see what the Dark Kingdom will do. Or what Beryl will do to find the rest of us in Japan."

"We are better off not relying on him," Tatewaki Kuno opined. "We must now do as true warriors do, and know our enemy."

The elders nodded approvingly. "We have our scouts keeping an eye on them. Our people are preparing to defend against an assault."

"Better we make an assault of our own. I should be honored to lead it. ... Would you happen to have any magic swords?"

Now the elders looked annoyed. "Once, long ago," a woman said. "They were all destroyed in battle. Magical weapons and items of any potency suffer the same fate as any other military asset of notable usefulness. They get targeted for destruction by the enemy, and sooner or later the enemy succeeds."

"Like with the guinzuishou," Ami mused. "It got broken up, before we found all the pieces."

"Against Mount Phoenix men, magical weapons will not be necessary," Lotion said. "We do not wish to cause them harm in any event. The true enemy is the general with them." She turned back to Usagi. "You say you caught this Magnetite in your attack. Was it enough to kill him?"

"It had to be! I kept going for five minutes! At least! And I saw... ahhh... yeah. I saw two bodies up against the ceiling before I passed out. So there! He was dead!"

"So they have yet another general," Minako said. "I hope they don't have a dozen more left. I'm getting tired of facing them."

"Well, it won't hurt to do a reconnaissance in force," Lotion said. "I suggest you prepare yourselves. We'll send a squad of our best warriors for reconnaissance. You can go once we know the situation better. For now, try and get more rest.

"I am quite rested. I shall prepare myself for battle. I should like to get a warm-up session before I lead the assault."

"You do that," Ukyo said, patting Kuno on the shoulder. "You can take point against them. Akane will be so happy when you get yourself killed."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, that's that, I guess," Rei said wearily as she hung up the phone. "No more Ranma. Well, no more Pluto. We're stuck on our own."

"So I guess we go with the Tendos," Makoto said. "How long do you think it might take to get the other guys back from China?"

"Maybe WE should go to THEM," Haruka suggested.

"That sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea," Nabiki said. "All of us going to China? We don't have that kind of money. We have to stay on the run."

"I'm not suggesting YOU go," Haruka said. "You can hide out wherever." She motioned to the other Senshi, Shampoo, and Ryoga. "The rest of us can go fight."

"I'd rather have you guys with us in case the youma come after us."

"Why would they bother? They only needed you to lure us. Stay low for a while and you'll have nothing to worry about."

"That's probably true," Ryoga said. "It doesn't make a difference to me either way. I've been to Jusenkyo, I can always go back."

"And you want to go home, right?" Makoto pointed out. "You can't do that until Beryl is defeated."

"That means invading them again," Haruka said. "Which we won't be able to do at their portals now. They'll be too heavily defended. We have to teleport in again, and for that all Senshi have to be together."

"We go," Shampoo said flatly. "Claim Shampoo prize."

"Prize?" Rei asked. "Wait... you mean YOUR prize? The curse? But they said Ranma isn't dead."

"Ranma no dead, no is cursed. Lady have no host now. Shampoo can get curse."

"Are you sure that's what's happened?" Nabiki said. "If you get all the way there and the pool still doesn't work for you..."

"It must!" Genma said vehemently. "My son is CURED at last! He is finally a TRUE MAN!" He seemed much more relieved since hearing the news, holding his wife close.

The front door opened. Anthy walked into the foyer. "Good afternoon, everyone. Did you enjoy your night?"

"Not nearly enough," Rei said quickly, "but it will do. Thank you for having us."

"It's no problem. Are you about ready to leave?"

"We are. Where can we find a bus or train station?"

"At the west end of town, a bit toward the north. You can take a bus to Osaka and get a train back to Tokyo."

"Well, we won't be able to go back home until the youma are all defeated," Nabiki said. "And these guys all want to head to China to get back with the others."

"It would be easier if we could go back through the Dark Kingdom," Haruka said. "Might take fifteen minutes through those tunnels. But I guess that's out of the question since they're so full of youma..."

"Well, that might not be a problem, if you really want to go that way," Anthy said.

"Oh?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Unless you can make them invisible..."

"Well... sort of. Has any of you taken a theater class...?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The cave was about as large as the one Magnetite had fought Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto in. It was dominated by two huge bronze statues, a phoenix and a dragon, over a large stone basin. They were essentially giant faucets, connected at the base to a common pipe leading to a reservoir nearby, enchanted against corrosion and deterioration. Even their paint looked fresh, though it could not have been renewed in recent decades: the phoenix vibrant in red, orange, and yellow, the dragon resplendent in green, blue, and indigo.

The key tool now on the head of the phoenix had its own enchantment, heating the water flowing through the neck to blood temperature. The hot water now cascaded from the beak onto the large cocoon the boy Saffron had woven about himself, giving it a constant flow if thermal and magical energy. Biomass had been necessary as well, which Magnetite had provided in the form of a local girl that had been keeping suspiciously close to them, possibly an observer from a local village. He had noticed several scattered around the valley as Saffron's entourage had made their way over. Magnetite guessed the villagers would not be happy at the loss of one of their own, but that was hardly a concern for him.

The cocoon had hardened and was now very smooth, appearing much like an egg, as of a creature gestating at the very beginning of life. It made little difference to Magnetite, however. He cared only for the results: the chamberlain had said Saffron would emerge fully grown and radiating with power. Power that Magnetite would then claim for his own. "You say this will take three days? What if he is woken early? Would that be fatal?"

"Fatal for us," the chamberlain said. "Lord Saffron will be at his full power by the end of today, but his new body will need to settle before he achieves full control."

"We will stand guard to ensure there is no problem," the guard captain, Kiima, said. "You may enjoy your stay at a guest room in our village..."

"That will not be necessary," Magnetite said. "My own accommodations are near at hand, and I still have business outside today." He noticed Kiima holding what looked to be chicken's eggs. "And what would those be for? May I see them?"

She threw a group of eggs at him with enough force to break if they hit. Magnetite, of course, had a telekinetic grip on them almost before they left her hand; he slowed them just enough for him to catch them unbroken. He examined them with both mundane and mystical senses. The contents were not exactly embryonic birds. "Psychotropic compounds? Let's see... an effect on memory and loyalty? Hah. Nice try. But you will have to deal with me as an equal. Although I do still have things to do outside at the springs. It should take me a good few hours, perhaps. I will return when the time is right."

Kiima could only scowl as Magnetite walked back out through the winding tunnels to the pools of Jusenkyo. She had actually been trying to save the newcomer's life. Lord Saffron might not kill him if he were their slave. Now... she could only sigh. "Such a waste..."

Magnetite marveled at the tunnels on his way out. It had been a minor lie to say that he was quite familiar with Jusendo; in fact all he truly knew was that it was a locus of power, a logical place for someone to try to control the flow of the aquifer if they wished to dry up the springs. All these caves and pipes were new to him, as was the whole world since he had awakened.

Outside, Magnetite made his way back to the foot of the springs, the spirits there quailing in distress as he prepared to seal their doom. "Yes. Cower in terror. The final hour of this place has come. You have served your purpose. Now serve me once more. Return to me all the power I once gave you!"

This time, the angels stood quietly by and did nothing as the light show resumed. The heavens did not even have the grace to weep as Jusenkyo itself died.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Senshi had decided not to transform until battle was imminent; they preferred to remain warm in their winter clothes until then. Tatewaki Kuno was being loaned a sword and coat, making him look like just another warrior. He grated at not being able to identify himself boldly to the foe.

"Always hogging the spotlight," Akane said from her bed. "Baka. Serves him right if he gets killed."

"You can't really want him dead," Ukyo said. "You're not that heartless."

"Well, not DEAD," Akane admitted. "But out of my life."

"You aren't going?" Minako asked Ukyo.

"I want to be here when Ranma wakes up. It'll let him know he doesn't have to worry about me. Don't worry, we'll be along together."

Minako strode out into the village. Everyone in their group was doing their own things, preparing in their own way. The hut next door was where the villagers made and stored medicines; Kodachi was there, helping the herbalist prepare a large batch of something. The smells were nearly overpowering to Minako. "Ugh. Whatcha got cooking? Some weird herbal medicine?"

"Oh, just the usual stuff," Kodachi said. "Poisons, paralytics, narcotics. My arm should not be an impediment to me in this battle if I have the proper tools. And they have shown me such interesting formulas. They have some rather unique herbs growing in these parts..."

"With the kind of groundwater they have here, I bet they do." Minako knew 'don't drink the water' was good advice to travellers to many places. This looked to be one of those places.

She strolled on to watch Tatewaki sparring against some of the village women. He was not holding his own very well, being repeatedly knocked on his butt. "You know, Ranma told me you hold back against women," Minako told him. "You don't have to do that for these guys. They're pretty strong."

"So it seems," the kendoist acknowledged. He got up and readies for battle again. "Come, young ladies. Is it too much for a man to ask that he borrow the proper tools for his job?"

"You not worth Amazon sword," one girl said, holding out a crude wooden club. "You not fight better, you got to take this."

"Then it seems I must earn my blade by entertaining a few ladies with my skills. Prepare then to be dazzled by the prowess of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Minako briefly considered warning him what he might be in store for if he actually won his blade - it would mean defeating one of these women, which Ranma had said would in effect be a betrothal. "Hmmm. Maybe I ought to pray for him... for Akane's sake."

Michiru was with Lotion outside the town hall. "Lotion-san... there's a question I've been meaning to ask."

"Anything, child."

"All these centuries you've had the powers of Sailor Pluto used by your people. I was wondering what you've done with them, what impact you've had on history."

"Impact on history? What impact?"

"Did you have anything to do with the Communists winning your civil war? Or making sure certain dynasties came to power, preventing evils from arising? Couldn't you have found a way to stop the Mongols? so many tragedies in this world, and your prophetesses must have seen them coming..."

"Oh, they saw. They saw and we did the only thing that mattered. We kept our people a going concern against all that would destroy us. That's as much history as we've affected."

"That's all? Surely it wouldn't have been difficult to send a few people out every so often to give advice, or reveal secrets, or..."

"Or what? What do you think we could have done with these powers?"

"They could change the world!"

Lotion scoffed at that. "Change the world? That's the problem with the world, especially these days, isn't it? IT'S ALWAYS CHANGING! So many idealistic young people like you trying to 'change the world'. And too damn many of you are succeeding! I'm happy to live out here, in a place where things haven't changed too visibly. In the cities, the more civilized parts of this country... well, you know what this century has been like for us."

"She's sounding like my grandmother," Minako muttered.

"I may know the bad times only from history class," Michiru said, "but things are getting better. We have peace and prosperity..."

"Aye, there's been that in the past too," Lotion said. "And there's all these new toys and gadgets. Telephones, airplanes, movies, all that rot. Hasn't changed human nature. I don't see anything coming that will. You want to talk about changing the world, well, the 'world' is PEOPLE, and they don't change. We've had a few decades of peace, but they'll find some reason to fight again."

"But that's just why we need Pluto's powers!" Minako now jumped into the fray with passion. "If we can head off the bad times..."

"Is that how you did it in your ancient magical kingdom? Seems it didn't work out so well. Where did this Dark Kingdom come from, anyway?"

That gave Minako some pause. "We don't know. There had been a thousand years of peace before then, and then suddenly, the Earthlings rose up. We were surprised, they had been coming along so well, and then suddenly Beryl was there, leading everyone against us..."

"Hmmmm. I do seem to recall Cologne mentioning a vision your Ranma had once. About how the Lady was killed. Betrayed by a lover, I think it was. Just goes to show, you can't be too careful. Can't fully trust anyone."

"Those with the greatest powers, are under the greatest burdens..." Michiru mused. "Queen Serenity had consorts, but no King. She couldn't get too attached to anyone. And Pluto... if she had never loved..."

"I couldn't live like that," Minako shuddered. "If Pluto could, she wouldn't be human. I guess I can't blame her."

"But nothing like that ever happened to you?" Michiru asked Lotion. "No enemies ever tried..."

"Seducing our Prophetess? She was the greatest secret of our village, no outsiders ever knew, and they always avoided actions that might lead to challenges. Not that they could be defeated anyway, even by any of us. I guess it would be harder to do that in a large kingdom that it has been for us in a small village in the middle of nowhere..."

The runner girl came again, firing off a rapid stream of Chinese. Lotion's brow furrowed. "He's at it again. The general is doing something at Jusenkyo."

Minako steeled herself. "Probably something worth stopping. Let's get to it!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The back room of the bakery had been set back to normal, meaning the portal against one wall was exposed again. The youma set to watch the gate, and work the bakery in human guise, were surprised at who entered through the back door. They were even more surprised at who the returning youma had.

"You got her?" The manager went up to the unconscious captive. He took Sailor Moon's chin in his hands, looking her over, trying to make sure she was the real thing. "You were gone so long, the Queen gave you up for dead."

"Took us longer than we expected, but we got her," the leader of the returning team said. "We chased her halfway to Osaka. Killed the others with her. Cost a few of my team. But I'm sure Queen Beryl will want to question her."

"I heard the real one was somewhere else, and the one here was only a decoy," the manager said. "But Queen Beryl hasn't given any change of orders. She must still want both of them. Go on." He motioned to the portal. The group dragged Sailor Moon back into the Dark Kingdom.

The tunnel inside had been cleared. There were a few youma on watch near the portal. They wore pieces of armor that did not seem integral to them, and carried weapons, which they had seen few youma do. Like the bakery team, they were amazed that some of their comrades had survived an encounter with the Senshi. "You got her! How?"

"Wore her out. She didn't have much stamina." The leader looked at the two guards' weapons. "Pulling out the heavy stuff, aren't we?"

"You missed out. The Queen ordered Lord Magnetite's armory issued. Too late now, it's gotta be empty."

"Well, obviously we didn't need it." The captors continued on, carrying their charge deeper into the Dark Kingdom.

There seemed to be no further youma on lookout all the way to the central areas. The way ended at a collapsed section. They set down the erstwhile Sailor Moon, who stood on her own strength. "Dead end," Rei said. "I guess we go back to that last right..."

Ryoga scratched his face. It was covered in white clay; his hair was under a skull cap. "I can't wait to wash this stuff off. It itches."

None of the Senshi had transformed; Anthy had explained it would keep their magical auras low, there being a good chance of magic sensors about. "Those guys back there couldn't have recognized us," Makoto said. "Or else there's a team on our trail..."

"Someone's bound to blow our cover eventually," Haruka said. Her own disguise involved a leotard, a lot of paint, some clay to distort her face, and a strange headdress. She did not even want to ask what she was supposed to be.

"Shampoo ready for anything!" Her Sailor Moon disguise had been fixed up a bit, her makeup touched up, the sword she had been carrying now in Haruka's hands.

Ryoga pulled out their map. Nabiki had forced them to hang up on the call to Shampoo's village before the international calling charges got astronomical, but they had managed to get some details on the path from Ami. "Okay, go back to the last right, then follow around a big cavern..."

They followed the right branch to a crossing. This was marked on the map; they went straight, taking them eventually to a large cave glowing with eerie light. A raised pathway wound its way among pools glowing electric blue, with equally bright trees and bushes growing out of them. "Are these real plants?" Makoto asked. "They're so bright... I don't see any bark or wood..."

"Maybe they're crystal formations," Rei said, looking at one up close. "No... I can't see any kind of surface. It's like they're made of light."

They hushed up as they approached a pair of masculine youma in crystalline armor waiting on the path. Both were armed, one with a sword, the other a polearm, blades made of some greenish glowing metal. "What's this?" one asked. "A prisoner?"

"Standing orders," Haruka said. "Queen Beryl still wants her."

The youma gestured behind him and too his left. "That way's been cleared. It'll get you to the throne room faster."

"Got it," Haruka nodded. They resumed carrying Shampoo through the cavern.

Ryoga kept one eye behind them. "Dammit. Those guys are still watching us. We're going to have to go left before we get out of sight." Their plan had called for them to go right at this cavern.

"You can always cut a tunnel back to the right path," Makoto pointed out.

They followed the left way out to another mid-size tunnel, which eventually led to another large cavern. It was also well lit, filled with ovoids, many covering the floor, some embedded in the walls, others hanging from the ceiling. There was a foul stench throughout the place. Makoto felt ready to lose her lunch. "Ugh. This place is going to make me sick."

"All these eggs..." Rei marveled. "I always wondered where the youma came from..."

"Or cocoons," Haruka said. "Maybe Queen Serenity forced them into hibernation or something."

Ryoga pulled off a bandana, ready to charge it with chi. "We should destroy them," he said. "Cut down the odds against us. Or else they'll just have another army ready to throw at us."

"Not yet," Rei said. "We have to make it through to the others. There's probably attendants here that would warn of us if we started a rampage right now."

"It doesn't feel so cold here," Makoto said. "I think this place is warming up."

"That might be it, too," Haruka said. "If these eggs were preserved because they were frozen, they'd have to be thawed."

"I don't like the idea of just leaving them." Ryoga looked around, tensing as if ready to unleash an attack. "I don't see any attendants..."

"Just because we can't see them doesn't mean there are none," Rei pointed out. "I guess we'll have to let them wait for a while. It's more important to get to full strength."

They resumed their progress to the far end of the cave. Ryoga gave one last look back. "I wish we had some grenades..." He shook his head. "Ah, we'll make do."

They continued through the tunnels, praying their disguises held out long enough to get to China.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma sat up suddenly, gasping for air. "Huh-huh-huh... what -"

"Yipe!" Ukyo flinched back, then brightened when she realized what had happened. She gave her fiancee a glomp. "RANCHAN!"

"Ack!" Ranma pulled Ukyo off, still trying to breathe. "What happened? What's going on?"

"You're cured, is what's going on. You don't change into that prophetess anymore."

"I'm... cured?" He searched around, started getting up out of bed.

Ukyo stopped him. "Easy, Ranchan. You still need your rest. Let me get it." She went to a basin and drew a bucket of water, which Ranma splashed on himself. As advertised, he remained male.

"I'm cured! I really did it... It worked! It actually worked! I'M CURED!"

Ukyo picked up on his words. "It worked? You planned this? Wait, of course you did. But couldn't it wait?"

"Why would I want to wait?" Ranma said, again trying to get out of bed. "Let me up! I'm fine!"

"The old ladies here think you should stay in until tomorrow, at least. And you might have waited until Beryl was defeated."

Ranma scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... I'm just kinda surprised I'm alive at all. I couldn't see anything after the battle, so I figured I was gonna die..."

Ukyo embraced him again, more gently this time. "It's okay, Ranchan. I know you did your best. Now we just need you to get well again and we can kick the youma's butts back to the north pole!"

Ranma looked around the room. "This doesn't look like a Tokyo hospital..."

"We're in Shampoo's village. Ummm... what do you remember, exactly? We found you in a collapsed cave, and Usagi said you'd fought Magnetite..."

"Ranma rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate. "Yeah... I did a Hiryu Shoten Ha to pin him against the ceiling, and told Sailor Moon to fire, and she did. Then the ground just blew up under me and I got thrown up against him. That's about all I know."

"But didn't you know that was going to happen? Couldn't you have moved?"

"I knew I was gonna get killed one way or another before the night was out. That was the closest I could see to a way that I might live through. I wasn't sure it would work, but... well, a man's gotta do what he's gotta do." He found his clothes piled on a chair, freshly washed from the night before.

Properly clothed, the two headed outside. "So who else is here? Akane and Sailor Moon were with me..."

"Venus, Mercury, Neptune, and the Kunos," Ukyo counted off on her fingers. "All the rest were in Japan. They got out someplace called Ohtori Academy. They couldn't go back home, not with the Dark Kingdom knowing about it. I think they wanted to lay low for a while..."

"Not your friends." This came from a middle-aged woman standing outside the medical building. "They call again, say they coming through the portals. We try convince to wait. Shampoo want prize."

"That doesn't sound too smart," Ukyo said. "Oh... Ranchan, this here's Soap. She was a great help to us last night. And her grandmother, Lotion."

Ranma looked from Ukyo to Soap and back again. "Soap and Lotion? What is it with this village?"

"Where is your grandmother?" Ukyo continued. "We should probably talk with her..."

"Went to Jusenkyo. With your friends. Short time ago. Youma there. Big fight, I think."

"Not without me!" Ranma started rushing toward the village gates, only to have Ukyo pull him back.

"Not so fast, buster. You just got up, you should take it easy. And aren't you hungry?"

Ranma suddenly rubbed his stomach. "Ah, yeah... I probably need a bite to eat. Is there a kitchen or something around here?"

Soap pointed to one of the buildings. "You find food there."

Ukyo led Ranma there by the arm. "Don't worry, Ranchan, I'll have you fixed up with some okonomiyaki in no time."

Ranma had a gleam in his eye. "And if we're going to fight, you'll want some of your special ingredients..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Tatewaki Kuno chafed under the burden on his shoulders. "Dammit, woman! I am not a mule!"

"Ranma always said you were," Usagi said absently.

Lotion gave Kuno a bonk. "Faster! Keep up the pace! Or are you tiring out already? My great-granddaughter has better stamina than this!"

"Then why is she not being the dutiful daughter and carrying you?" Kuno asked.

"She beat you. Besides, her burdens are heavier." The girl in question was weighed down with metal weapons and armor pieces.

Kuno grumbled further under his burden. He swung his club in frustration. "Unconscionable that a warrior such as I should be denied a proper weapon. To be used as a mount-!"

No one paid him much attention. They were focused on Jusenkyo, now just ahead. As they crested the final rise of the road before the valley, they met the runner girl on the road. She was with a heavyset man in army uniform. A short exchange followed between him and the Amazon leader before he turned to the Senshi.

"Honored visitors! I am being Jusenkyo area guide. Many visitor I show to springs. Try to explain about curse." He frowned. "Few listen." He looked out over the pools toward the flashing lights. "That one not even come to me. Go straight to Mount Phoenix." He gestured to the southern ridge. Minako made out a much taller mountain beyond it.

"He lead bird men up valley," the squad leader translated for the lookout, who pointed at the mountain at the northwest end of the valley. "They go in there. Is many doors in cliff face. They go in. Bird mans now stand guard, he stand there making fireworks."

"What could be in that mountain that's so important?" Minako wondered.

"Is Jusendo," the guide said. "Source of water of Jusenkyo springs. All come from there. Very few know."

Ami began working her computer. "It's a major magical node," she said. "There's a lot of power in the mountain. But... something's wrong." She turned to the pools on the valley floor. "There's no magic in the pools," she announced.

"Magic in the mountain, but none in the pools?" Minako asked. "But how?"

"I don't know yet. But those pools down there are ordinary water. There's no curses."

Nevertheless, they took no chances, staying on the slopes of the mountains away from the water. They followed the border of the springs north and west, more of the springs becoming visible as they went. Soon they began to make out flashes of light coming through the forest of bamboo poles.

"I bet there's magic *there*," Minako said.

"It's being drained!" Ami exclaimed. "The general is drawing it in. The magical substructure is unravelling... the curses! They're being dispelled!"

"Whaaat?" Usagi asked what they were all thinking. "Why would they do that? Didn't Ranma say they created the pools in the first place?"

"Perhaps they have no more use for them," Michiru suggested.

"That doesn't make sense," Minako said. "Curses like that would be so useful to them. They helped defeat the Moon Kingdom with them, didn't they?"

They continued to their destination, a spur with a good view of Mount Kensei, then northwest end of the valley, and a high-ground view of the middle of the springs. From there they could get a good view of the man in the middle draining the power of the curses. The Amazon squad leader pulled out a pair of binoculars for a closer look at their quarry, then handed them off to Usagi.

"Magnetite," Usagi said confidently, anger creeping into her voice. "I'd hoped I finished that creep."

"They're sure tougher than any of us," Minako said. "Probably tougher than Ranma, too. I guess he must have been buried under all that rubble too."

"Should have finish him," the Amazon leader said.

"We didn't see him," Michiru said. "We had no reason to dig once we had Ranma out."

"No..." Lotion was starting to look horrified. "Nooooo... the spirits..."

"Spirits?" Usagi asked.

"The spirits of the springs... of the creatures that drowned there... he's drawing them in!"

"It's true," Ami said, starting to look horrified herself. "There's dead spirits in the springs that are still magical... but the ones he's draining..." She shut her eyes and averted her head.

The others crowded around her small computer screen, looking at the scan. There seemed to be bright motes of light attached to some of the springs, others being sucked into the vortex that drew the magic to Magnetite's position. "Is he... EATING them?" Minako started to turn green.

"Quick!" Usagi demanded of Lotion and the guide. "Which one is Pluto's spring?"

Lotion pointed with her staff to the section that was still magically charged. "In there. We've long known the spirits are bound to the springs they drowned in. The Lady seems to be the only one who follows whoever has her curse at the time. That was why only one could have it at a time. If Ranma is truly cured..."

"Then she's still there!" Usagi said. "Our Pluto could still be there! We've got to save her!" She made a fist, determination giving her features passion. "MOON PRISM POWER! MAKE UP!"

"VENUS POWER! MAKE UP!"

"MERCURY POWER! MAKE UP!"

"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER! MAKE UP!"

The Senshi charged out over the springs, following the Amazon squad. The guide found it ominous that none of them tripped and fell in any springs on the way.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The heat increased as they headed further down the tunnel. The next cavern was a forest of fungi, with mushrooms as big as houses. A few steam vents here and there seemed to be the source of the heat. The stench here was almost overwhelming. "I'm not sure we can get through this way," Makoto said, gagging.

"Hold your breath," Ryoga said. They rushed ahead as fast as they dared.

There was movement in their path. They were mushrooms about three feet high, bouncing along like some vertical inchworms, caps tilting back and forth as they moved. One of them stopped near them and turned as if to follow them.

Makoto tensed up. "These things are giving me the creeps," she said. "It's just so WEIRD."

"Queen's business!" Haruka told the mushroom in a commanding voice. "We are not to be disturbed." That seemed to scare the mushroom into moving on.

They were glad when they reached the far end of the cavern and started to get away from the stench. The next cavern beyond was filled with leafy plants and vines. There was little light here. "I wonder how these grow without sunlight," Makoto said. "Mushrooms I understand, but this stuff should be in a greenhouse."

"I don't think they use chlorophyll," Haruka said. The leaves were purple, blue, brown, black, but no green. At least the forest was drier than the previous caves.

"I don't like this place," Ryoga said as they made their way through. "We can't see far enough. There could be anything hiding in here..."

The leaves began to rustle. Wind began to blow, whistling through the branches and small holes. The sounds quickly became a voice. "Ssssstoopppppp... ssssstoppppp... yyooooouuuuuu dooo nottttt beeeelonnnnnngggg..."

"Queen's business," Haruka said again. "Transporting a prisoner."

"Keep going," Ryoga said in a low voice. They tried to push ahead, but the plants ahead of them began moving en masse, forming a wall. A wall with a face.

"Innnntrrrudderrrrrssss..." The face was looking angry. "Youuuu arrrrre notttt offf ussss... youuu arrrre nottt youuummmmmmaaa..."

"I guess we're blown," Ryoga said, preparing to rush the wall. Suddenly the nearby branches started beating on them. Vines reached out and grabbed at their arms and legs.

Haruka used the sword to hack him free. More vines grabbed her own limbs, forcing her to drop the sword. She was pulled back, being engulfed by the brush.

"Haruka!" Rei grabbed Haruka's arm, but did not have the strength to match the plants. She, Jupiter, and Shampoo were all grabbed and pulled into the forest.

Ryoga was temporarily free. "Hang on! I've got this!" He pulled off two bandannas and stiffened them with chi, dual wielding them to hack away at the plants. He almost had Makoto free when the trees whipped and threw razor-sharp leaves at them, giving him pause. Some gas had also been released. He began coughing too violently to keep fighting.

Vines snaked around his ankles and pulled him off his feet. He was soon suspended from a branch, being cocooned by vines. The noise of the group's stuggles subsided as they all became hemmed in.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite was not worried when the spears and arrows clattered off of his shield. Nor when the laser beam splashed against it. The blast of ice weakened it slightly. The green energy ball nearly took it down. None of it broke his concentration. He finished the sector before turning to face the Sailor Senshi and what appeared to be a band of local allies.

They were all standing atop bamboo poles. With the element of surprise out of the way, Sailor Moon indulged in a dramatic speech. "The dead should be allowed to rest in peace! You who do unspeakable things to their spirits! All the ghosts of Halloween won't forgive you, and I sure won't! I am the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon -"

"And Mercury!"

"And Venus!"

"And Neptune!"

"I will PUNISH YOU!"

Magnetite looked around, trying to guess where the other Senshi were hiding. "You may as well bring out the rest of your friends. I know they're hiding around here somewhere."

"We don't need them to beat you! I almost did it before, and this time you're going DOWN!"

"Meaning they aren't here right now," Magnetite said confidently. "Dead? Injured? Lost? No matter. Even were they here they would not be enough. My strength is more than recovered. Your Sailor Pluto mentioned, I believe, that I was responsible for creating this place, and I have reclaimed what is mine. With the magic I have absorbed I am now as powerful as Kunzite ever was." He held up his hands and sent streamers of power between them. Motes of light also danced around him, surrounded by ghostly silhouettes of people and animals. "And these spirits... having fallen into the springs, they are mine as well. I am sure they will make many fine youma."

Sailor Moon seethed in rage. "They will go free," she vowed. "As for you, I might consider going easy on you if you tell me where Tuxedo Mask is."

"Tuxedo Mask? Do you mean your Prince Endymion?" He chuckled. So, they didn't know what had happened to him. No reason to tell them he was in Beryl's clutches; a minor lie was in order. "As it happens, I don't know either. I imagine he is lost somewhere in the world as all of you were. You shouldn't worry, though. When I bring you before Queen Beryl, we will have plenty of time to look for him ourselves..."

"Enough talk!" the Amazon squad leader yelled. "We fight!"

"Ah. You wish to fight." Magnetite leaped atop one of the bamboo poles, matching his opponents. "I believe this is how it is done at this training ground, isn't it? We fight from pole to pole until one of us falls." He extended a hand, ready to fire a wave of power to knock everyone off of their poles.

The Senshi expected this; they dropped off of their poles as the Amazons' formation broke up, their numbers making their way across the poles to surround Magnetite. Sailor Venus tried to get at Magnetite's footing. "VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!" The chain snaked out and wrapped around Magnetite's pole, forcing him to start leaping as the chain lashed out pulling down each pole he landed on.

"SHABON SPRAY!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" "DEEP SUBMERGE!" The other Senshi made their moves to gain the advantage, Mercury to fog the battlefield, Neptune firing directly at Magnetite to keep up the pressure, Moon cutting down each pole he leaped to. The fog was dense enough to obscure the poles of one spring from those of another, forcing him to the ground between springs. The Senshi were magically able to see farther in it, allowing them to stay ahead of him.

"The fog of war!" Magnetite laughed as he abandoned the poles for the moment, making it a ground battle. The Senshi, none too sure in their footing on the bamboo, came down to match him. "But isn't this a bit inconvenient for your allies?"

It was true. Mercury looked around the area and noticed the Amazons moving without their usual coordination - they could not see any farther than Magnetite. Lotion called out something in Chinese, then Japanese. "Hold positions!"

Mercury saw what she was hoping to do. "We should try and herd him toward them!"

Magnetite was already ahead of her reasoning. "You hope to lead me into an ambush? I think not. Let's clear the air." He performed a short chant, made a few passes with his hands, and a great wind blew the fog away, leaving the field visible once more.

"You see the power of the Dark Kingdom?" he taunted, jumping again to the bamboo. "Your powers are narrow, each a master of a single element. We who gained power under Queen Beryl and the great Metallia have broader powers, allowing us to master all the elements. I take it none of you have wind power? Or, perhaps, proper earth magics?"

"We have what it takes to beat you!" Venus swung out her chain, grabbing for the bamboo he stood on again. In fact, the end of the chain was moving fast enough to cut right through - but again he was hopping among the poles, falling backward.

"We've got to bring him down," Sailor Moon said. "MOON TIARA ACTION!"

This time her tiara flew low over the surface, cutting down a swathe of poles. Venus got the idea. "Everybody duck!" She began circling her chain above her head and let it play out, clearing all the bamboo within a hundred meters. Magnetite continued to fall back.

"Just like a lawnmower..." Neptune said.

"Cut him off!" Lotion yelled. "Don't let him back up too far!"

The tiara sailed out again, cutting down the poles in an arc running behind Magnetite. After a few passes, there was a circle of bare ground too wide for him to simply jump. Venus moved her 'lawnmower' forward, cutting down the island of bamboo Magnetite had to work with. But when the last pole was down, he was left levitating over where it had been.

He gave another laugh of contempt. "Very well. You prefer the poles cut. Let me show you how big a mistake you just made." He began chanting and gesturing again.

The Senshi braced themselves, trying to be ready for anything. The Amazons did not want to wait for his attack. With a great cry, they rushed across the no-man's-land to swarm him, but did not get there before the wind returned. This time it blew in a cyclone, lifting the cut bamboo trunks and slivers, filling the air with a deadly could of projectiles. The Senshi screamed and hugged the ground as their costumes were shredded, their skin lacerated by dozens of small cuts.

The Amazons were a bit better protected, carrying shields and wearing breastplates and in some cases arm and leg guards. One of them took a chance and threw a spear at the Dark Kingdom general. It passed close enough to his head to make him aware of his vulnerability. He retracted the wind to a shielding glove around himself, making further thrown attacks futile.

He still needed to immobilize his opponents. "A good commander makes proper use of his terrain. And this terrain is ripe to be used... thus." The chants and motions were different this time. The ground beneath the Senshi and Amazons turned to mud.

The Senshi scrambled away to avoid getting dirty. The Amazons were not afraid of cleaning a little mud out of their clothes - and did not appreciate the danger this mud posed. Several of them sank up to their knees and suddenly found themselves immobile as the mud gripped them with a life of its own.

Magnetite decided to give that life some shape. A gesture brought some of the Jusenkyo spirits now under his control swirling before him. "Go now. Try out some new bodies for a while." The motes of life went forth and inhabited sections of mud beyond the Senshi and Amazon parties. The paths between the pools began to form into mud creatures, forming a circle around the humans and moving in menacingly.

"Now we are on more even terms numerically," Magnetite said. "You have your army, I have mine. In fact, I outnumber you. And I have you surrounded."

"Guys, I don't like this," Venus said. "He's got us cut off!"

It was true. The Senshi had been reduced to standing on a ring of ground surrounding one of the pools. All the pools around it had now merged into a small lake filled with islands which were rapidly assuming human and animal shapes, much larger than life. The pools were becoming a lake, too deep to wade and too wide to jump.

That left swimming. One of the free Amazons tried it - only to turn into a rather strange thing when she hit the water. The Senshi gasped. "The water!" Neptune said. "It's cursed! He's been falling back to the pools that still had curses!"

"What the heck is that thing?" Sailor Moon asked.

Venus tried to hazard a guess. "An elephant... crocodile... crane... a couple of things I don't want to know..."

The mud golems were now uncomfortably close to the Senshi, reaching out with arms and wings and tentacles. "If they can grab us, they've got us prisoner," Mercury said. "We have to stop them!"

They tried their attacks, with some success: Sailor Moon's tiara could cut gashes in a mud creature, but was too small to cut anything in half. Venus tried to use her chain to bisect things, but it merely sank into the creatures and was pulled out with no lasting effect. Only Neptune's power blasts were able to disrupt a large mud form completely - and Mangetite had plenty of power and ground to work with, enlarging the lake as more pools were joined. The mud army continued to grow.

"Give it up, Sailor Moon," Magnetite advised. "You are now at my mercy. You so-called 'warriors' are beaten by a superior enemy with greater resources and better command of the basics of military science -"

A bag came flying at his back, exploding against his wind barrier, breaking it. Magnetite was left vulnerable to the kick to the head that followed. He went spinning head over heels toward the lake, barely recovering in time to avoid getting dunked himself.

"Like surprise?" Ranma asked.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ukyo! And - RANMA!" The Senshi had, in fact, seen the two moving into position behind Magnetite. They must have arrived some minutes ago and risked a delay to circle around. Now that their attack had been sprung they could make a proper greeting.

"Sorry we're late," Ranma said. "Had to grab a bite to eat." He stood at the edge of the lake, facing the levitating Magnetite. "I figure we'd pick up where we left off."

Magnetite hovered inches over the cursed lake. "Good show. "I suppose it was too much to hope for that you did not survive your exposure to the guinzuishou." He flew up and over Ranma and Ukyo, landing on another pole off to one side and slightly behind them. "Very well. I believe you know how this is supposed to go. Shall we?" He assumed a stance of his own, preparing to make further magical passes to bring more elemental magic into play.

"So what's the plan?" Venus called. "How do we beat him?"

"Heck if I know," Ranma shrugged. "I was just gonna wing it."

"But you've always had a plan... eep!" Sailor Moon quickly shut up when she realized what her slip.

Too late. Magnetite had caught her admission. "Ahh. I see. There is something different about you now, isn't there? You have no magic aura now. The curses are dark magic, of my creation. The light of the guinzuishou would have purged it. You can't change into her anymore! Now you are at a grave disadvantage without future sight. You are welcome to try, of course, with all your friends and allies, but you will find you cannot defeat me now."

"Put up or shut up!" Ranma dove at him, and the two began bouncing among the bamboo poles again, much like the training session so long ago against his father that had led to all of this.

"We've got to help him! MOON TIARA ACTION!" Sailor Moon threw in her tiara to provide some interference against Magnetite. Venus lashed out with her chain, Mercury with her new ice blast, Neptune with her energy balls. The Amazons threw whatever they still had. Against any other foe, it would have been overkill.

Magnetite was like nothing they had faced before. He pumped dark power into his limbs again, multiplying his speed and strength, and fired power blasts occasionally, forcing his ranged assailants to move, occasionally striking them. Another of the Amazons was struck near her feet, sending her flying into the cursed lake. Magnetite moved to grab at them, one after another, using them as shields for a time. His ability to fly allowed him to ignore the poles, swooping around the battlefield at his leisure.

After several minutes of this, he paused. His opponents did likewise, having mostly run out of energy themselves by this point. Even Ranma was breathing hard, standing none too steadily atop a pole. "You see?" Magnetite taunted. "You are fighting a losing battle. I have superior resources. Break off while you still live."

"I CAN beat you," Ranma said. "There IS a way. I know it."

"You FEEL it," Magnetite said. "You GUESS at it. You do not KNOW. Not as you would have, not the details."

Ranma swore under his breath. Magnetite had a point. Sailor Moon had nearly died taking him down before. Now she was at least fifty meters away across water she dared not swim. At that range Mangetite could dodge all day. There would be no point in her wasting her energy channeling a healing attack until Ranma could get Magnetite pinned. But it was looking as if he had no means to do so. "If only I had the curse still..."

"Ah, indeed. Well, you could, actually. Surely you must recognize where you are right now. What spring you stand over."

Ranma looked around at the contours of the spring, its position in the field, and realized he was back where it had all began. The Lady's spring. Right below him.

"What are you waiting for?" Magnetite continued. "Dive in, and let us see if you can fight me as an equal again."

"HE DOESN'T HAVE TO!" Ukyo rushed forward, another large bag on her spatula. She threw it at Magnetite, but instead of following up with a charge herself, she dodged toward Ranma. Her intention was plain to Magnetite; he simply extended a hand and fired off a gust of wind, reversing the direction of the bag. It proved to be filled with rubberized noodles and some rather sticky batter. Suddenly Ukyo was immobilized in her own trap.

Magnetite chuckled as Ukyo struggled in vain to inch toward the spring. "So noble of you. Trying to spare your lover from bearing the curse a second time. Take it upon yourself to protect his pride. Alas, it won't work. The choice is his." He turned back to face Ranma. "So what will it be? I would say I have all day, but..." He glanced at the setting sun. "It seems that day is almost over. I suppose I should give you a bit more incentive."

He extended his hands again. Ranma was ready to dodge any attack, but the stream of crystal shards Magnetite sprayed in an arc above him left only one direction open: down. The choice of direction was made easier still when a few errant shards cut off the bamboo Ranma was standing on.

He fell toward the spring, again, this time able to grab at the shortened bamboo shaft as he decended. He did not try. He splashed into the spring once more.

When he came up for air, he was still Ranma Saotome, Man Among Men.

Various cries of "Noooo..." echoed from the Senshi and Amazons. Sailor Moon was simply puzzled. "But... if I cured him, wouldn't it be like the others? Their springs still worked, didn't they?"

"The spirit of the Lady..." Lotion was crying. "Only one can have her curse, her powers, at a time - for unlike the other springs, her spirit followed the one who had her curse. We had hoped that Ranma's cure would have been similar to a death, and her spirit would return here. But if it has not..."

"Then HE has it," Venus said, fixing her glare on Magnetite. "You drew her spirit before we got here."

Magnetite gave another contemptuous laugh. "A good guess, perhaps, but no. Her spring was dead when I got here. It had to be YOU, Sailor Moon. The light of the guinzuishou freed her spirit from all bindings. From young Mister Saotome here... and from this world."

Sailor Moon had gone pale. "Nooo... I didn't... I didn't think... I didn't mean to ..."

"She wanted to be free," Lotion said. "Cologne told us you had realized she wanted to be free. And now she is. Her war is over at last." She began chanting a prayer in Chinese.

"It seems you will have to win this battle as you are," Mangetite gloated. "Or would you rather retreat to fight another day? Bear in mind I can hardly let the Sailor Senshi go, now that they are within my grasp. But as you no longer qualify as one of them..."

Ranma dragged himself out of the cold water and resumed combat stance. "Nothing doing. I'm with them to the bitter end." He looked over to Lotion, still chanting her prayer. "Hey, old lady! Help me out here!"

"What would you have ME do?" Lotion asked. "Do you think all of us age as well as Cologne did? She was the strongest of us. I am nowhere near her power. I fear I would not be any help to you."

Ranma cursed again. "Dammit... if only the old bat hadn't gotten herself killed..." He sighed and steeled himself for another round of fighting.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In a fallen cavern deep in the Dark Kingdom, the rubble stirred. With painstaking effort, a very old warrior worked her way free. She stood up unsteadily, her breathing still ragged.

"Alive... by all the gods, alive."

She wanted dearly to sit down and wait for her strength to recover, but to do that properly she would need food and water. Nor was this place safe - youma were still crawling all over the place, clearing blockages and tidying up, hunting for possible intruders.

The others still needed her. Ranma most of all. The war would go on.

Slowly, gingerly, she made her way out of the cavern and back toward the fray.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Reading over the Saffron arc in Ranma, it seems Takahashi paid no attention to the timing of events. That flock of birds that carried Akane from Tokyo to Jusenkyo must have moved at supersonic speed. Of course, timing issues get lost against such wallbangers as Akane getting all the water in her body vaporized, leaving her a doll instead of a lifeless organic/mineral paste. Oh, how naive fanfic authors were back then, treating Ranma as an example of mature fiction, simply because SOME anime and manga was mature. If only we had known it really WAS aimed at children too young to know better...

Hoping the next chapter will be final. Obvious stuff happens.


	29. Sailor Pluto

Chapter 29: Sailor Pluto

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's note: A bit of a rush job, I've probably made all kinds of mistakes. Please give feedback, advice, point out what doesn't work, what's impossible, etc. I just felt I had to get it done and out there in SOME form before travelling for the holidays.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The shaking of the leaves and vines had been subsiding for some time. The captives were growing tired, too tightly bound to break free. Youma patrols had been alerted. Soon, they would arrive and take the guests to more permanent accomodations. There was, of course, only one thing for them to do.

"MARS POWER, MAKE UP!"

"JUPITER POWER, MAKE UP!"

"URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

The unleashed energies forced the plants away. Uranus' transformation did nothing more, allowing her to rush back to the central clearing. Jupiter's left her bindings stunned and scorched, burning with small flames.

Sailor Mars flew out of her bindings and landed in the clearing, turning back around to protect herself from any vines that might reach out to draw her back in. She was horrified to see the flames from her transformation spreading rapidly across the plant life, in spite of the moisture in the air and plants. The cavern would soon become an inferno.

"Oh, great!" Jupiter said. "Did you think about what might happen if YOU transformed in a FOREST?"

"And what was I supposed to do?" Mars replied. "Stay there and choke?"

"Save it," Uranus said. "We've got to get out of here before we burn!"

"GET ME LOOSE!" Ryoga cried.

"Hold on, I've got you! SUPREME THUNDER!" Jupiter's bolt struck the vines suspending Ryoga from the overhead branches, stunning and severing them. Ryoga fell to the bushes below and rolled out to the clearing, wriggling his way free.

"Shampoo need help too!" their Chinese companion called from within some tall grasses.

Ryoga still had his stiffened bandannas in hand. He simply hacked away at the grass until Shampoo was exposed. Once all of them were in the clearing, they began looking for a way out before the fires engulfed everything.

"We've got to go back - uh oh..." Ryoga's proposal died in his throat as he saw the entrance to the cave obscured by another wall of plants, not as dense as the one ahead but full of lively and menacing vines and branches. Fire was also racing in that direction. "I don't think we're getting through there before it goes up."

Uranus chose the direction that the fires looked to reach last. "WORLD SHAKING!" The bushes and trees were pulped, opening a path some distance in. "This way!"

Jupiter threw in some bolts to stun the lively flora, allowing Ryoga and Shampoo to wade in and hack their way to a wall. Ryoga immediately began working on their way out. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"

"How thick is this wall?" Mars asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Uranus said. "We don't know which way it's thinnest! Just keep going until we get out!"

The burning forest behind them was screaming. "Could you hurry up?" Jupiter asked. "There's got to be every youma in the Dark Kingdom coming here soon!"

Uranus fired a few blasts, but it didn't seem as if she could dig any faster than Ryoga. She left the tunneling to him while she conserved her strength for any youma they might run into once free.

They were soon coughing and choking as the air filled with ash and the oxygen ran low. Jupiter voiced their worries. "We'd better get through fast or we're going to end up cooked!"

The fires were starting to burn the path they had entered by. "We could use a firewall!" Mars said, picking up debris from the tunneling effort and stacking it behind them. Shampoo and Jupiter took up the effort, helping to keep their space large enough to hold them all.

It seemed an eternity before the explosion of one of Ryoga's moves sounded different, carrying an echo from somewhere. "We're through!" he said.

"At last!" Mars was relieved as the group emerged into a largish room about ten feet high, filled with shelves, racks, and tables. "Where are we?"

"Some kind of storage," Jupiter said. She gestured toward the double doors, shut and bound in steel. "A vault, maybe?"

Much of the low light in the room came from objects on the shelves. There were all manner of accessories with luminescent gems and auras: rings, earrings, chokers, bracelets, ribbons, orbs, strange things that defied description.

Uranus looked over an empty rack that looked as if it might have held weapons. "The armory, maybe. Looks like those youma were right, all the good stuff's been issued."

"Maybe not," Ryoga said, eyes fixing on one item lying alone on a table. He went over and picked it up. "A staff. I bet Ranma could use this..."

Mars flinched back from him. "Are you crazy? Beryl only knows what kind of booby traps are on this stuff!"

"Kinda late now," Jupiter said. "If you've set off some alarm..."

"At least he didn't get paralyzed or keel over dead," Uranus observed. "At least not right now. Maybe slow poison..."

Mars looked over the staff. "Looks kinda like a key to me, anyway."

"But if we're already inside the vault..." Jupiter wondered.

"Mabye it's for a different vault," Uranus said. "Would have to be something pretty important, if just the key is in a different vault itself."

"So we don't want Beryl keeping it, anyway," Ryoga said. "If we can hide it somewhere..."

Mars fixed her gaze on the key-staff and began chanting a prayer, making a few hand passes. "There's a lot of power in this thing, but not dark. I don't think it's booby trapped." She repeated her divination on the items on the shelves. "Nothing really bad here, but I can't be too sure. If only we knew what they were for..."

"Probably nothing useful for combat," Uranus guessed, "or they would have been issued too." Several of the items, and empty item spaces, had name plates or catalogue cards nearby. These were mainly written in languages none of them recognized, but Uranus did spy one in English. "Adamantite sword?"

Ryoga noticed one spot on the shelves in Japanese. "Doom Fist? What is all this stuff? Where did they get it?"

"Must have been from the Moon Kingdom," Mars suspected. "If only there were a catalogue..."

"Here!" Jupiter was at a desk near the door. It held several books and papers. She picked up the thickest book and opened it. "More gibberish..."

None of them recognized the language. Another text was in different characters, also unreadable but vaguely recognized. "I bet this is Silver Millennial language," Mars supposed. "That other one is something the Dark Kingdom used."

"Might as well take it, too," Jupiter said. "Maybe we can remember how to read it someday."

"Shampoo help," the Amazon said. "We get back to village, have whole rack of formula."

"Let's get to it," Uranus said, moving to the door. She and Ryoga tested it with presses and blows.

"It's thick," Ryoga estimated. "Probably guards on the other side. Get ready for a fight." He readied another Breaking Point strike.

"Wait a minute!" Mars said. "Can we go around?" She pulled out their map and tried to find where they were.

Jupiter traced their path with a finger. "We had to backtrack here, so we went this way... that would be the mushrooms, that would be the forest, so THIS must be us."

"And if we cut around this way -" Mars began.

"No good," Uranus said. "Our tunneling isn't exactly quiet. We'd be heard eventually."

"May as well go straight through," Ryoga said. "It's not far to that portal room." His finger lashed out in a strike.

The door was a foot thick, and barred. Ryoga had shattered boulders of comparable size before. The two youma on the other side were surprised and knocked flat by the blast. Mars and Jupiter sprayed them with fire and lightning.

They were disappointed when the guards were not dusted. "They must be tough," Mars said.

"Or maybe it's the armor." Ryoga noted they they were both wearing breastplates and greaves. "At least we knocked them out."

Shampoo was quick to pick up the sword one had dropped. It was made of purple metal with red sparks dancing up and down its length. She swung it a few times to test its balance, then chopped at the former owner's neck. It turned to dust, leaving its armor pieces behind. "Is good weapon for Shampoo!"

The other one left gloves behind when it disintegrated. "I don't want to get slowed down with that armor," Ryoga said. "But these gloves..." He put them on over his hands. They were overly large at first, but suddenly shrank down to fit. "Yow! The perfect glove!"

A group of youma with various weapons and armor pieces came from the left side of the T-junction down the hall. "Humans! Slay them!"

"Looks like I'll get to test these right away," Ryoga said, meeting the youma with his gloved fists.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma grunted and rolled as he hit the ground. As he had too much momentum to stop before falling into the next spring over, he pushed off with arms and legs to do a somersault in the air over it, landing shakily on the other side, ready to defend again.

The second round against Magnetite wasn't looking to go any better than the first. Without his curse, Ranma was limited to his training and natural physique. These would have been enough to conquer any human foe, but Magnetite was magically enhanced with dark power, making him stronger and faster than even Ranma. The young martial artist had so far remained on the defensive, losing ground slowly but surely.

"Can you hold up?" Magnetite taunted as he darted around on the bamboo poles, and sometimes simply flying through the air. The Amazons were throwing things and leaping at him, to no avail; he dodged effortlessly while keeping up his assault. "You're not dodging or blocking as well as you were when you had her power. If you keep this up you'll lose your life!"

Ranma did not deign to answer. With a wordless roar, he charged directly at his elevated foe, leaping to the attack, trying to dodge at the last instant, and getting bounced back across the springs to land on his feet once more. It was all a matter of distraction from his point of view: with Magnetite's attention divided, something had to give.

It gave out on the cursed lake formed from the pools of Jusenkyo. Most of them had been drained of power and curses before the group had arrived, but several live springs had been merged as well when Magnetite had turned the grounds between them into mud monsters, shaped by spirits from the springs. The Senshi had been reduced to an atoll in the middle of the lake, dodging the mud creatures' attempts to grab and immobilize them. Now, with Magnetite distracted, the mud creatures were much slower and less coordinated, easier to dodge.

Nevertheless, the Senshi still felt the pressure. "There's got to be some way off this island!" Neptune said.

"There is! SHABON SPRAY FREEZE!" Mercury's blast was directed at the surface of the lake, creating a path to the edge. Two towering mud monsters were also caught in the effect, being frozen solid and rendered harmless. The group ran safely between them to make it to shore.

This still put them on a thin strip of ground between pools; they did not stop until they reached the edge of the grounds, at the foot of the western slopes. There they stopped and waited for the others.

"Such inconstant allies," Tatewaki Kuno said. "Truly, it does show that such powers as theirs are not meant for the hands of women."

This got him a solid bonk from Lotion. "They've got the right idea! It's a bad enough idea to fight at Jusenkyo in daytime, doubly so at night. This battle isn't over. We need to regroup." She waved her staff to the rest of her party. "Fall back!"

Ranma continued to avoid Magnetite's blasts and swoops, working his way north. One attack that connected threw him clear over the spring on the northern edge of the field, leaving only dry ground between him and Jusendo. As Magnetite continued to press him that way, the Amazons moved behind him, helping Ukyo free of her binds.

"Ranma!" the chef called. "This way!" She motioned with her arm and started heading with the Amazons to rejoin the Senshi.

"It seems your friends have no stomach for this battle," Magnetite said. "Will you be as much a coward as they? Or do you have the will to finish this?"

Ranma stood his ground. "I'm going right where I need to."

"Ranchan... nooo..." Ukyo started to follow her fiancee, ready to help. The Amazons did not try to stop her; they knew a woman could not be kept from her man under these circumstances.

They headed due west to the edge of the springs, where the Senshi came up to meet them. Sailor Moon was less understanding of Ranma than the Amazons were. "What's he doing? He's going the wrong way!"

"Calm yourself, child," Lotion intoned. "I believe he still intents to sabotage whatever that man is doing at Jusendo."

Mercury activated her visor and began to scan. "There is a lot of power under that mountain," she reported. "Magnetite must have something growing there. Those bird people were there with him, weren't they?"

"They might have a part in his plan," Lotion said. "I can't guess what until we see for ourselves..."

"Then let's go!" Sailor Moon almost led them straight north across the springs, but stopped short. "Err... maybe we can go a little way around... I don't want to get any closer to that water than I have to."

"Wise decision," Lotion said. "We will make a flanking attack. Let us hope that Ranma can hold out..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Along with their wings and talon-like hands and feet, the bird men of Mount Phoenix had inherited a notable weakness from the bird that had imprinted their mountain's well: poor night vision. They had brought plenty of torches, as well as provisions for standing guard for the three days Saffron would be cocooned, and were mostly keeping to the tunnels under the mountain, where their torches would be lighting limited spaces.

Koruma gripped held his spear at the ready, hovering just off the ground, ready to fly out to help the approaching Magnetite. Their strange benefactor was now fighting some youth on a rocky outcropping across the pool from the cliff. "Should we help him?"

"We stay here," Kiima ordered. "The darkness weakens us more than it does them. Besides, it doesn't look as if this Magnetite needs any help. He has that boy on the run."

Out on the rock, Magnetite was chasing Ranma in circles. The circles started getting tighter, spiraling toward a center. Well before he could have Ranma down to pivoting on one foot, however, he broke off and flew high in the air. "I hope you didn't think that would be effective here," he said, darting around in the sky. "Out in the open, I can simply ride it out."

Ranma chuckled. "Now who's the coward? Come down here and fight!"

"I do not pretend to any foolish views that limit my effectiveness. I tire of this little game. I shall end this from right here!" He extended a hand and fired a power blast.

Ranma dodged easily, but was soon running in circles again - this time simply trying to dodge Magnetite's fire. Fortunately, Ukyo was just arriving. "If you won't come down, we'll just have to BRING you down!" She put another bag on her spatula and heaved it at the flying general.

Magnetite casually destroyed it with a power bolt as it got within reach. It exploded into a cloud of dust which engulfed him. He continued firing at the two on the ground for a few seconds, then stopped and began to sink. "What... what have you done...?"

"Something Kodachi whipped up with the herbalist," Ukyo said as Magnetite sank to the ground. "They said it was equally potent. You've breathed enough to knock out an elephant." She stepped up to him and raised her spatula high to deliver the coup de grace.

Suddenly Magnetite's eyes went wide, fully alert. His hand shot out and grabbed Ukyo by the ankle. And then they were both gone.

"UCCHAN!" Ranma could only stare at where his fiancee had been.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ukyo was aware of a shift in the light, and then she was tumbling backward down a flight of stairs. As she reached the bottom, Magnetite threw something at her. She was suddenly engulfed by something like her rubberized noodles, but they covered her more completely, and quickly began to harden...

Kiima regarded the egg now resting at the foot of the stairs, just inside the entrance. "This is the girl from out there? How did you bring her in here?"

Magnetite stood up at the top of the stairs and began to descend. "More of my power. Quite a simple trick, really, if you have the power to do it." A good chunk of power, actually; more than enough to spare for occasional use before the Senshi had appeared, now he was becoming more conservative about teleporting. "I believe she is the boy's lover."

Kiima's face showed alarm. "Then he will want her back as soon as possible. He and his friends will want to attack during the night!"

"Exactly," Magnetite smiled. "This is our stronghold. In here we can capture and turn all of them." He chuckled at the thought of presenting Queen Beryl with Sailor Moon as a willing slave.

Kiima scowled at Magnetite. "Better for us that they break off! In the morning we can fight them outside at greater advantage."

"We will have plenty of advantage as it is. Although, if you are worried about defending that doorway, I can be of some help there..." He cast an earthshaping spell at the door area, causing the rock around the door to flow over it, making it look to be just another section of cliff face.

"I hope you can reverse that when Lord Saffron hatches," Kiima said.

"Rest assured, our foes will create their own opening. I recommend you have your guards patrol the tunnels to intercept them. With good timing and the use of a few eggs, we will add their forces to our own this very night."

Kiima started giving her orders to her guards, feeling less and less comfortable with this ally of theirs. Hopefully, she could arrange for him not to survive the coming battle.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ranma! Are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked. The Senshi had met up with the Amazon party and were now arriving at the foot of Jusendo. "Where's Ukyo?"

"Magnetite took her," Ranma said. "She hit him with some sleeping powder, thought he'd be out all night. He must have expected it and held his breath. Oldest trick in the book. Should have seen it coming." He looked toward the mountain. "He grabbed her and vanished."

"He does not want to allow us to retreat for the night," Lotion said. "The Phoenix soldiers will be all over that mountain. We do not wish to enter unless we must." She turned to Sailor Mercury. "What can you tell from this distance?"

Mercury worked her computer and looked through her visor. "There's a large amount of power being gathered near the top of the mountain. Some kind of magical flow from the base."

"What's with all the doors?" Venus said. "There's so many..."

Mercury hit a few more keys. "I'm sorry. The magical power is giving too much interference. I can't get a good map of the interior."

"We'll just have to try them all," Ranma said. "I've been waiting to use this move ... MOKO TAKABISHA!" The chi bolt blew one of the doors off its hinges, and detonated a bomb behind it, leaving a hollow in the cliff face.

"Better save your energy for the enemy," Lotion said. She gave a command in Chinese to one of her squad, equipped with a chain with a metal claw. This allowed her to pull at a door from a distance, tripping another trap.

The area guide had kept his distance while there was fighting, and was joining the group now that things looked safe. He looked out over the lake, tears flowing freely. "Long time I be guide to Jusenkyo springs. Never think this happen." He turned back to the Senshi. "You fight bad man what do this to springs?"

"He's in there," Sailor Venus confirmed. "Do you know about this place?"

"This Jusendo, ancient source of magic springs. Not know what bad man do in there, but cannot be good. You go in there, beat him, you maybe make springs back way they were?"

The Senshi sweatdropped, unsure how to answer his concerns. Lotion saved them. "The springs can be restored to their old appearance, but the curses must go. You must remember they are TRAGIC springs. It is time for the tragedy to end. You can tell visitors about what they used to do, but they will only be normal springs."

The guide bowed sadly to her. "If honored elder say it must be so, then it be." He turned to the mountain before them, pulling a sheet of yellowed paper from his jacket. "Have map. Show all inside Jusendo, ancient source of cursed springs."

Sailor Moon popped a vein when she looked at it. "No it doesn't! This just shows us where we already are!"

"Is special ink. Like curse of springs, need hot water to show."

"There's a cursed ink?"

Sailor Venus gave her a friendly bonk. "Baka! Didn't you ever play with those color-changing stickers? They sell them at toy stores all over the place."

"It's an old ink formula, but completely mundane," Lotion said. "An ancient form of cryptography."

She gave another order to her squad. As they had been expecting a fight at Jusenkyo, they were prepared with canteens of Spring of Drowned Girl water, as well as normal water and torches. Several of them had shields that could serve as bowl. The water was heated within a minute. The paper changed its diagram when dipped.

Sailor Mercury looked over the diagram of the interior tunnels. It was quite rough, but would do for their use. "Looks like these three go into the tunnel network."

"There were supposed to be some of those Mount Phoenix soldiers in there, weren't there?" Sailor Neptune said. "Won't they all be gathered at those doors?"

"I hope so," Ranma said. "I got a plan..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Like the youma guarding the treasure room, those in the cave were facing the wrong way to avoid sudden death. Their attention was directed out the entrance, waiting for a possible attempt by the Senshi that had gone through earlier to force their way back in. They were completely unprepared for the fire and lightning spewing from the portal behind them.

Ryoga and Shampoo were the first to come through bodily, followed quickly by the Senshi. They had fought a few more youma guards and patrols on their way to the portal. These showed where the weapons and equipment from the empty racks in the armory had gone. Beryl had decided not to hold back the good stuff in the wake of the decimation of her ranks by the Senshis' invasion. Virtually every youma killed had dropped some weapon or armor that was not integral to it, and therefore did not disintegrate with the body.

Both martial artists now looked more like geared warriors: in addition to the weapons dropped by the first pair of youma they had killed, they had now added various pieces of armor and trinkets. Ryoga had a pair of bracers, boots, belt, and headband. Shampoo wore earrings, necklace, rings, a breastplate, and a pink ribbon around her head. (It seemed unassuming to her, but many youma had ribbons just like it; the fact that this one had not been integral to its youma made it suspicious. She wondered if it had some special enchantment.) Whatever extra gear they could not carry (mostly weapons) they had buried under some rocks in a dead end room, hoping it would have a low priority among the damage control teams that were cleaning up debris from the earthquake.

Ryoga cautiously looked around the cave, then peeked outside. No other youma were in evidence. "Looks like we got them all," he said.

They peeked out the entrance to the cave, noting the dusky scene. "Is this the place, Shampoo?" Mars asked.

The Chinese girl nodded. "Is Jusenkyo. That way to village." She pointed south.

Their attention was soon drawn by a series of pops in the other direction. "That sounds like a war," Jupiter said.

"Probably Sailor Moon and the others," Mars said. She opened her watch. "Sailor Moon! This is Sailor Mars! We're at the portal in the valley!"

There was no response. Jupiter tried next. "Sailor Moon! Come in!"

"Some kind of interference, maybe?" Mars suggested.

"Or maybe it's just too noisy there?" Uranus said.

"Doesn't look all that far away," Ryoga observed. "Maybe a couple of miles. We can run it."

They began jogging, as opposed to running at top speed. It would not do to arrive at the battle too exhausted to do anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Koruma flinched as yet another booming sound came through the doors. "Are they really going to try EVERY door?"

He and Masara stood several feet back from their door. "I hope they run out of people before we run out of doors."

Koruma patted the bronze case at his belt, holding a dozen eggs. "Even if they don't, they'll be outnumbered by then. And we have enough of these for everyone."

Magnetite looked on from several yards down the tunnel and shook his head. "Such fools," he said under his breath. The Senshi could simply blast down doors at range. Hopefully, the bird-men would not be so inept as to fail to egg them as they came through.

"I shall check on our... prisoner," he announced, heading off to where the girl was being kept. He expected that to be where the battle was truly decided.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma burst through the tunnel wall and looked both ways, ready to deal with a patrol. He saw none. "Looks like we're in luck. Coast is clear."

Sailor Venus was next, holding up her glowing chain, as much for light as to be ready for battle. The light proved unnecessary; a few yards up the hall there was a wall sconce, in the fashion of a giant clam, holding a tindered fire. "This way, isn't it?"

Ranma nodded. "Everybody be quiet and stick together." He took point, leading the Senshi in a search of the tunnels, looking for either Ukyo, the upper chamber, or something else vital to destroy.

They found Ukyo first, bound and gagged at a junction, guarded by two bird men. The men saw them coming and raised swords. Venus lashed out with her chain, disarming the two. They quickly broke and ran.

"Looks like they got no stomach for fighting," Ranma said. He picked up one of the fallen blades and used it to cut the ropes binding Ukyo. "Ucchan! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Ukyo rubbed her wrists. "I'm fine. I'm going to need my stuff, though. It should still be where they left it. Come on." She started off down one branch of the tunnel.

They followed her to a room with a balcony ending in a staircase. Two more guards were standing at the foot of the stairs, with Ukyo's spatula, bandoleer, and several bags of tricks. Ranma didn't expect them to put up any more of a fight than the other two, and leapt off the balcony to deliver flying kicks to knock them down. Ukyo rushed in to grab her things.

"Right, then," Ukyo said as she re-equipped herself. "Let's see what they've got on them..." She searched the dazed bird-men, taking some metal cases from their belts.

Ranma opened one. "Eggs? Their lunch, or..."

"A weapon, actually. It works like this." Ukyo put both cases of eggs, perhaps two dozen, on her spatula and swung it in a wide arc - throwing the eggs at Ranma and the Senshi.

Ranma evaded by pure reflex. "Ucchan! Watch where you're throwing that stuff -"

"Yaa! Help!" Ranma turned to see Mercury and Neptune being engulfed in some sort of goop with threads in it, like a miniature version of Ukyo's rubberized noodles and batter-glue mix. The stuff seemed to have a life of its own, engulfing the two Senshi and smoothing into an egg shape, which quickly hardened.

"Ucchan! What did you do?" Ranma rushed to examine the eggs, knocking on them to check their hardness. He felt they should be no trouble to break, and raised a fist to free Mercury.

He suddenly sensed a presence behind him and jumped aside. Near the ceiling two bird-men were hovering. They flapped their wings forward, throwing feathers at Ranma, possibly not their own, or plucked earlier and reinserted to serve as projectiles. The feathers flew at the remaining unencased party, proving razor sharp. Ranma, Sailor Moon, and Sailor Venus all got more small cuts, and much of their clothing was shredded - now becoming par for the course for their fights.

Ranma ended up guarding himself against a far wall. "Ucchan! What the heck are you doing? You're on our side, remember!"

"Not anymore," Magnetite said, emerging from the tunnel exit. He must have been close behind them; perhaps they had passed him and not realized it. He bounced an egg in hand. "Handy little trick these bird-men have. These eggs carry a sort of brainwashing serum in them, absorbed through the skin. Your comrades, when they emerge from those eggs, will be as baby birds, ready to be imprinted, to follow whoever they see first."

"Just stand still and join us, Ranchan," Ukyo said, readying another batch of eggs. "It'll be easier that way."

"Oh, no you don't! Venus Love-Me Chain!" Venus lashed out, knocking the eggs from Ukyo's hands. She tried the same with Magnetite, only to have her chain slowed by his shield. He casually grabbed the end of the chain and used it to pull Venus off her feet, throwing his eggs at her while she was vulnerable in midair. Within seconds she, too, was encased.

Ukyo was disarmed of her eggs, but still facing off against Ranma. She leapt at him, throwing knives and chopping with her spatula. Ranma dodged as best he could. As he was constitutionally against hitting girls, and this girl was, of all people, his fiancee, he could not simply slap her: a slightly trickier method dealing with her wrath was called for.

He allowed her to lunge with her spatula, slipping by to one side. She cut across in a flat arc, which he easily ducked, moving past her in the other direction as momentum continued her pivot. He ended up behind her, allowing him to grab her close in a hug. "Ucchan! Look at you! Look what you've done to your friends!" He faced her toward the eggs now hardening. "Try to remember!"

"I have no friends!" Ukyo struggled to free herself from her fiancee's grip. This was accomplished with some support from Magnetite, who fired a burst of power at Ranma, forcing him to break off to allow the bolt to pass between them.

Ranma ended up in a corner, near Sailor Moon, who was in a full panic and was now cowering in the corner near a bronze demon dog statue. Ranma realized Magnetite and the bird men would swoop down at any moment to pick her up; he would have to stay close. He ducked again as Ukyo made another level cut, hacking through the statue.

None of those present knew about the handle in the statue's mouth, or the rope that connected it to a secret door in the nearby wall underneath the balcony. Without tension in the rope, the door could move freely on its pivot. Sailor Moon was the first to find out, as she was backed up against it, and felt it give slightly under her pressure.

"Dammit... she's under some kind of mind control!" Ranma turned to Sailor Moon, trying to dodge further attack. "You gotta help me here -"

He was cut off as Ukyo smacked him across the back with her spatula, sending him flying into Sailor Moon. Both of them grunted as they were slammed together. There was a second or two in which the world seemed to spin before they both fell to the floor, briefly stunned.

They picked themselves up, trying to regain their bearings. Ranma noticed the light was suddenly much dimmer. They were now at the foot of two staircases, one heading straight out from the wall, the other leading off to the left. "What the heck? How did we end up here?" He looked back at the wall. "A secret door...?"

Sailor Moon shook the wooziness from her head. She started climbing the stairs opposite the door, frantically trying to put distance between herself and Magnetite. Ranma chased after her. "Wait up! We gotta -"

Again he was interrupted, this time as the secret door was blown off its pivot mounting. Ranma flinched back; if he had stayed on the landing, he would have been crushed. Now Mangetite regarded him from the room they had just vacated. "Don't think you can get away! we control this whole mountain!" He started rushing at Ranma.

With Magnetite behind him, and Sailor Moon climbing ahead of him as fast as her legs could carry her, Ranma had little choice. He followed her up the long staircase. It looked to be a very long way with no landings. *I just hope this exhausts her soon...*

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was full dark when they arrived at the northern edge of the pools. The magic weapons they had taken from the youma they had fought on their way out provided at least as much light as torches of comparable size. "So... these are the cursed pools of Jusenkyo?" Jupiter said. "Looks more like a small lake now."

"It wasn't like this before," Ryoga said. "Last time I was here, this part was all smaller pools, like the southern part. Something must have happened here..."

"You think the PLA Corp of Engineers was here?" Uranus said. "Maybe they had their own idea what to do with this place."

"There's still evil here," Mars said. "I can feel it. That lake... there's spirits there... crying out for justice..."

They continued on to where the explosions had been coming from. The noise had stopped by the time they got there; it was hard to tell what was happening on the mountain in the darkness, but Sailor Mars had more useful senses than sight. "There's a lot of power in there. If Ranma is trying to do something here, he must have gone in."

They were halfway up the mountain when a light in the darkness stopped them - a flashlight. A pudgy man was making his way down with a woman and child in tow. "More visitor come at night! You is like other girls what go in Jusendo?"

The Senshi were suddenly guarded, ready to attack, but Shampoo held out a hand to indicate they should hold. "Is Jusenkyo guide. He friend." She noted the woman and child, as well as the boxes they had with them. "You is leaving with family?"

"Is time for vacation, I think. Is something bad happening underground here, inside Jusendo, ancient source of cursed springs, right under guide house. Mount Phoenix troops go inside, follow by other girls what dress like you. Is going to make very bad feng shui here, I think."

"How many were there?" Jupiter said.

"Four like you, in blue, orange, green, and orange." he pointed to Shampoo. "One made up like you, too."

"I better fighter," Shampoo said proudly.

"One other with them, boy." He pointed to Ryoga. "Kind of like you."

"Can't be Ranma," Ryoga said. "I look nothing like him."

"Maybe at a distance..." Uranus said.

"Some girls from your village, too," the guide said to Shampoo. "Lotion in charge. They attack doors in cliff, your friends make own way in. Say fighting bad man, what do that to Jusenkyo." He was almost in tears as he waved his hand toward the lake. "Say he doing something in Jusendo, with bird-men. Capture one of your friends, they say. Call Ukyo."

"Taking hostages?" Ryoga said with distaste. "Cowards. Just what I'd expect from the likes of them."

"No wonder Ranma didn't wait for us," Jupiter said.

"That evil man is probably a general," Mars said. "You said this is the source of the cursed springs? Makes sense there'd be a lot of power there. The Dark Kingdom would want that. Where did they go in."

The guide produced his map and began pointing out things. "They go in here. Tunnel way in. They make way to top, look for girl."

"Start at the bottom and make their way up?" Ryoga wondered. "Wouldn't Ukyo be held in the top, where they're doing whatever it is they're doing? Ranma's being stupid. He should have started up there."

"Ranma's always known the best way to go," Jupiter said. "If he went that way, it's because it's the best way."

"Or it WAS the best way," Mars said. "He's always talking about how timing is important. He could always avoid any patrols in there. We might run into them if we take the same route..."

Ryoga stabbed his finger at the top chamber. "We're pretty close to HERE already, and we know he's headed there. I say we meet him there. We ought to have enough firepower to deal with a dozen guards or so."

"Amazon womens in there too," Shampoo said. "Fighting bird mans. They have too much to handle, Shampoo think."

Uranus squinted her eyes at the markings on the chamber. "What are these? Some kind of glyphs? Cave paintings?"

"There be statues there," the guide explained. "Phoenix and dragon. Have key tools in head, control water. Phoenix have Kinjakkan, have fire magic, heat water. Dragon have Gekkaja, cold magic, cool water."

"So they're giant faucets?" Ryoga said.

"Pretty much," Uranus chuckled.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jupiter said. "Let's go!"

Off they went, making their way around the pool in front of the cliff to make their way up. The guide continued to lead his family down, praying he was wrong about what the bird men were doing there. If he were right... he wasn't sure even those magical girls could fight a god.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma couldn't decide if it was a good sign that Magnetite had broken off pursuit. _Knowing him, he's probably moving to cut us off up ahead..._

The good news for him was he had nearly caught up to Sailor Moon. She had nearly reached the top of the stairs anyway, crashing into a door marked in Chinese. This proved to be bad news an instant later, as Ranma and the Moon Senshi found themselves falling from a great height. Both cried out in surprise.

Ranma managed to grab Sailor Moon by the waist. He had only seconds to get a look at their surroundings: a circular shaft at least fifty feet across, spanned by wooden beams at various heights and angles. He quickly twisted in midair to kick off from one as they passed it, angling him to land safely on another. A final leap took them into the mouth of the tunnel at the far end, where they were less exposed and on solid ground.

Sailor Moon was shaking like a leaf in his grasp. "Calm down! Get a hold of yourself! We're safe now. Everything will be fine -"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She kicked him away, backing up against the other side of the tunnel. "Everything will NOT be fine! Because of you, Mamo-chan is lost somewhere and Sailor Pluto is TOTALLY DEAD and your own fiancee is trying to kill you! My friends are in those egg things! I bet you have no idea what to do now!"

Ranma normally had a hard time responding to a woman's tears; his father had taught him to listen to his protective instincts where they were concerned, but had little advice to offer on how to comfort them or allay their concerns. There was little he COULD say under the circumstances. He could not argue her points. He slumped back against his side of the tunnel. "I know. I haven't done to swift lately. I have to admit, I'm kinda in over my head. Magnetite's got Ucchan and the others under some kind of spell. But YOU have the cure for that. We need to use the guinzuishou to free her. Mabye the others, too, if he does it to them. You with me?"

She was calming down now, becoming more steady. "Ah... yeah. Right. Got it." She summoned the Moon Stick, ready to cast her healing magic.

There was a cry of alarm from deeper in their tunnel, followed by a volley of arrows. The two were forced back out into the shaft. There were many beams crossing it at all angles and heights, some ending flush with the walls, some leading into other tunnels. There were also some tunnel exits on the walls with no beams. Ranma prepared to jump to one of these - only to see Sailor Mercury there.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" Ranma narrowly dodged a blast of ice. Sailor Moon jumped in the other direction, ending up on a higher beam, then falling off to a lower one. A green energy ball from above cut through the beam, sending Moon dropping again. She was plucked from the air by Venus' chain.

Ranma had problems of his own. More bird-men were pouring into the shaft, enjoying the advantage now that they had room to fly. Ukyo and Magnetite were with them, facing Ranma from different beams.

"It seems only one now remains free," Magnetite said. "One who serves no further purpose. Kill him!"

"Yes, Magnetite-sama!" Ukyo threw more knives and leapt with her spatula high.

It would take all of Ranma's considerable skill to avoid every form of death being thrown at him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ryoga broke through the wall into the upper chamber, and landed on his head after falling ten feet to the floor.

He was resetting his neck when Shampoo landed with feline grace next to him. The Senshi all came down in good order. They all proceeded to gawk about the chamber, absorbing the scene.

"So, that's the statues?" Jupiter said. "And what's THAT?"

"That" appeared to be a giant egg in the central basin. It seemed mostly smooth, except for some fibrous tendrils that gave the impression it was like a giant plaster cast. Water was pouring onto it from the beak of the Phoenix. The surface of the egg glowed strongly.

"Must be something the general set up," Uranus guessed. "Some super-youma or something."

"They don't seem like the type to share power," Jupiter said. "They wouldn't give it to a youma if they could take it for themselves. That could be the general himself in there."

"Why aren't there any guards?" Uranus wondered. "This thing looks kinda vulnerable just sitting here alone."

"That general must be a fool," Ryoga said. "All we have to do is break this thing before it gets too much power!" He walked up to the egg and gave it a low-power punch, expecting it to break easily.

It didn't. The tendrils came to life, starting to grasp at him. "What the hell -?"

"Ryoga!" Mars said. "Get away!"

Ryoga found his legs wrapped up in the tendrils. He charged a pair of bandannas and cut himself free, bounding to the wall of the chamber. "Okaaay, I guess that explains why there are no guards. It can take care of itself!"

"Looks like we need to try a ranged attack," Mars said. "BURNING MANDALA!"

"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

Mars' and Jupiter's attacks had no effect. If anything, the egg glowed brighter. "It just absorbed them!" Jupiter said. "We just make it stronger!"

"Maybe if we starve it," Uranus suggested. "We have to cut the water off! We have to turn that key in the head of the Phoenix!"

"I'm the lightest of us!" Mars said. "Ryoga, boost me up!"

Ryoga took her by the waist and gave a mighty heave. Sailor Mars almost made it to the top of the head, but slid down the back of the neck. From there, however, she could jump the rest of the way. She grabbed the Kinjakan and turned it.

The water flow slowed to a trickle. The Kinjakan flared with light. Mars flinched back, shaking her hands out. Her gloves were burned through. "That's hot! Some kind of backlash..."

The tendrils suddenly stopped menacing Ryoga and changed direction. Mars jumped away from the head of the Phoenix, landing on the neighboring Dragon. She watched in frustration as the tendrils wrapped around the Kinjakan and turning the water back on. That done, they started moving toward Mars.

"Aww, come on!" Jupiter said. "That thing can even turn on its own water? So much for starving it..."

"We can still do that. WORLD SHAKING!" Uranus aimed her shot at the water main feeding the two statues. It was shattered, along with the surrounding rock it was mounted in, sending the two statues falling forward over the basin. The Phoenix landed right on top of the egg, crushing the shell.

Water was now pouring freely from the main. The group all made their way to the exit. Mars pulled the Kinjakan free of the Phoenix head on her way. "Best to make sure."

"So much for the Dark Kingdom's plan," Ryoga said. "Now to find Ranma."

Further down the tunnel they reached a junction room at the same time as a group of bird-men, including one woman. "Who are these?" Ryoga asked. "Some kind of youma?"

"No," Shampoo declared. "Is legendary bird-mans from Mount Phoenix. Is not part of Dark Kingdom. Or is you?" She readied her sword.

The oldest of the men was apoplectic at the sight of Sailor Mars. "Wh... wh... what is this? Who ARE you people? How can you have the Kinjakan?"

"This thing?" Mars held the Kinjakan up. "I ripped it out of the Phoenix."

"But... Lord Saffron needs the hot water for his transformation!"

"That egg we saw?" Uranus gestured back to the basin room. "Smashed now. We brought the Phoenix down on it. Guess you wish you had posted guards there now, huh?"

Jaws dropped all around. The woman was the first to recover, pointing her sword at the group. "Sacrilege! Do not think you have won. Lord Saffron is as the Phoenix, ever reborn after death. He will survive this. But you have interfered with his transformation to his adult form. I know not how you survived the touch of the Kinjakan..."

"I survived because I have a... FIRE SOUL!" The Senshi slipped past as the bird men recoiled from the flames. They tried to pursue, but tremors emanating from the tunnel to the basin room stopped them.

"Lord Saffron must be emerging!" the chamberlain said. "It is too soon! He should have been in there for another three days! Quick! We must attend him!"

Kiima ground her teeth in frustration. "Those invaders can't get away. That way leads to the water supply shaft. Magnetite and the rest of the guards will deal with them..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma bounced from beam to beam, and sometimes off of Phoenix soldiers, trying to present an erratically moving target. It was more enemies than he'd ever had to dodge before. He was holding up well so far, having taken no hits, but eventually they would get lucky or he would wear down.

Sailor Neptune took another shot at him; it was way off. Sailor Venus swung her chain at him; he caught it and yanked her off her feet, using her as a counterweight to swing the chain in a high arc above his current beam to clothesline a Phoenix soldier. This also bent the chain, sending Venus pivoting around the hapless bird-man.

In a training session, she would have released at the right time to come flying straight at Ranma. She let go early, bouncing off the wall of the shaft and ending up on a lower beam. "Mind control has made you guys slow," he observed.

"Numbers compensate for speed," Magnetite said, firing another blast at the same time as Mercury and Neptune, whole the Phoenix soldiers shot arrows. Ranma continued to give the lie to Magnetite, dodging everything thrown at him, but he wondered how long he could keep it up.

Sailor Moon was being held higher up in midair by two bird-men, one holding each arm. She wailed and scissored her legs madly, dangling over a seemingly bottomless drop. "HEELLLPPP! I'm not a wishbone!"

Ranma checked the other Senshi. Mercury was charging up a shot. Ranma leaped to a beam between her and one of the soldiers holding Moon. As expected, she took the shot, icing one of the soldiers when Ranma jumped away. This allowed Ranma to bounce up to the remaining captor and grab him, inhibiting his flying. The group dropped down several beams.

Which put him on the one Ukyo was now on. Ranma had managed to get her out of the fight temporarily early on, pinning her arms and dropping down with her to a very low beam. She did not have the jumping height Ranma or the Senshi did, and none of the Phoenix soldiers, nor Magnetite, had offered her a ride up. She had been forced to work her way back around through the tunnels to gain altitude.

Now she was back in the shaft, on a level with Ranma. By this point, she had used up all her glue, noodles, gunpowder, and throwing knives. She had only her two-handed spatula. Tactically, she was the easiest opponent in the shaft; personally, she was perhaps the hardest.

Her overhead cut separated Ranma from Sailor Moon, and nearly his arms from his body. He threw the bird-man at her, forcing her to check her balance, and leapt up toward the next beam above.

He didn't make it. Magnetite anticipated his move and fired a force-bolt at just the right angle. Ranma was hit squarely and thrown into the far wall hard enough to leave an indentation. He sat in it, dazed for the moment.

Everyone in the room except Sailor Moon was converging on him, ready to fire or charge, when they were stopped by the sounding of voices Ranma hadn't heard in a while. "BURNING MANDALA!" "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" "WORLD SHAKING!"

Ranma recovered his senses and found the voices coming from a tunnel exit across the shaft from him, a bit to the left, two levels down. Fire, lightning, and energy spewed from the tunnel mouth, scattering the forces in the shaft and giving them pause. Magnetite floated down almost to Ranma's level, across the shaft from him, much closer to the Senshi. "So, it seems the gang is all here at last..."

"Guys... you all came...?" Ranma's spirits soared, though part of his pride didn't go very far. For him, it was embarassing to have to be rescued.

"What the heck's going on here?" Jupiter asked. She looked around the room, noting that Mercury, Venus, and Neptune were all preparing attacks against Ranma. "Why are you guys fighting AGAINST each other?"

"They've had something of a change of heart," Magnetite said. "They're on my side now."

"This is no time for jokes, guys," Uranus said.

Ukyo turned to face the rescuers, spatula at the ready. "All enemies of Lord Magnetite must die!"

Ryoga elbowed his way to the front of the group, standing on the edge of the abyss, holding the Time Key Staff. "RANMA! What are you doing, playing around with these guys! Here! You might want this!" He threw the staff across the shaft at Ranma.

Ranma caught the staff easily, but stared at Ryoga in exasperation. "And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"BAKA! What do you think? Transform and kick their butts!"

"I CAN'T!"

"What do you mean, you CAN'T?"

Magnetite chuckled at his foe's helplessness. "It is true. It seems he is no longer Sailor Pluto's host. Cleansed by the light of the guinzuishou. A pity. That staff would be the Pluto's own staff, which she used to channel her powers over time and space. With it, I daresay your cursed form would have been at its full effectiveness. I had almost forgotten about that thing. I should thank you for reminding me of it."

Ranma held the staff in a guard position. He was primarily a specialist in unarmed combat, but could use any traditional weapon if he had to. "Well, I may not be able to use it like that now, but if it was hers, it's still a good idea to keep it away from you."

"As if you could," Magnetite said, reaching out toward Ranma and the staff. "That weapon is now attuned to me. It responds to my will alone, and comes when I call. Observe."

Suddenly the Time Key Staff was flying out of Ranma's grip, spinning across the shaft, tumbling end over end through the intervening space between him and Magnetite. The pig-tailed martial artist could only stare in horror as it returned to the grip of its Dark Kingdom master.

And there SHE was, falling down from a higher beam, a vision of pure impossibility, her bronze skin, her green hair, her Senshi fuku, all in Ranma's eyes misplaced outside of a mirror, descending just in front of Magnetite. For an instant the two mortal enemies faced each other, he levitating vertically, she falling horizontally, both reaching out, grasping at the Time Key Staff between them.

And then she was below him, staff in hand, spinning like a top, tumbling head over heels, twirling the staff about like a cheerleader, making complex and graceful arcs. Light flared from the staff, silvery mists streamed out and engulfed her, and she became a silver comet vanishing into the depths below.

And then the mists broke into random wisps, fading away to nothing. The air of the shaft was undisturbed, as if nothing had ever been there.

Ryoga was the first to find his voice. "Ummm... what just happened?"

"That... that... that..." Sailor Moon stammered as she looked rapidly between Ranma and the place Sailor Pluto had just vanished. She finally settled on Ranma. "That was YOU, wasn't it? Your cursed form? Shouldn't it still be a part of you?"

"No..." Mars said softly. "It was... HER..."

"The Lady." Shampoo's voice held a mixture of awe and sadness. "She alive..."

"ALIVE! After all these centuries, Sailor Pluto lives again!" Magnetite's maniacal laughter cracked the air of the shaft. His gaze fixed upon Sailor Moon. "And she has YOU to thank for it, Princess."

Sailor Moon was again flustered. "Me? THAT'S what happened when I...?"

"Yes. The guinzuishou is the ultimate expression of Silver Millennium magic, able to make almost any wish reality... in the hands of its rightful wielder, Queen Serenity. And now you, her heir. No doubt that was her plan from the beginning." Now he looked to Ranma. "That was why she chose you, of all people, as her host this time. You were the only one coming who offered to take her to the only person who could truly set her free. Little good it does you, however. As you saw, she has abandoned you."

"She did..." Ryoga said. "But... why? Shouldn't she know we would need her help?"

"She has other priorities. She has gone back to her duty at the Gates of Time. A duty given to her by her Queen, one she cannot, WILL not shirk anymore. I imagine she learned her lesson after what I did to her." He raised his hands again, charged with dark power. "And without her to aid you, your last, wishful hope is gone. You face only me, and I have wasted enough time fighting all of you. It is time to end this. TAKE THEM!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Deep in its cocoon in the Dark Kingdom, Metallia stirred.

It felt a lingering presence, almost familiar. Someone had just been here. Someone with a magical aura like... one of the ancient defenders of the Moon Kingdom. One of their Sailor Senshi. It knew their power signatures well; it had killed them once before, and would do so again when it regained sufficient power. This new presence, whoever had just visited its chamber and left, was like them, but did not quite match any of those it knew.

A Senshi that had not been at the battle, perhaps? It knew there were more than the four it had faced before. The Outer Senshi, perhaps? But their duties lay elsewhere. They should not be here, on Earth. If they had rewakened as well, they should look to those duties first and foremost.

Some new threat, then? Perhaps the Senshi had some new trick, some way to disguise their auras? Not impossible, but it would take an expert mage, and most of them were subverted to the Dark Kingdom's service.

It was no matter. The presence had been fleeting, a minute at most, and was now gone. the cocoon was undamaged. Perhaps the Senshi had found someone who could penetrate this far and had them scout the room before an attack.

And perhaps it was nothing, an ephemeral feeling, like so many it had had as its senses awoke from ages-long sleep. No matter. It had suffered no attack, taken no damage. It still rested comfortably, receiving energy from youma operations across the world. It went back to its slumber, waiting for the day it gained enough energy to fully awaken, and then the Sailor Senshi would not be able to stand against it any better than they had the first time.

It did not notice a few things left behind in its chamber.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The short break in combat had given Ranma a much needed breather to recover energy and appreciate the situation. It looked much better than it had, with the reinforcements turning the odds from hopeless to something close to even.

His own forces included himself, Ryoga, Shampoo, and four Senshi. He knew the three Inner Senshi would be hampered in fighting in the shaft due to their fear of heights; retreat into the tunnels was a priority - but getting their turned comrades back was a higher one, and it would be more efficient for Sailor Moon to cleanse them as a group than one at a time. That mean they needed space to fight and collect them.

This particular space, however, favored Magnetite's forces. His own Senshi were also fearful of heights, but not so much as Ranma had expected, as they had all jumped down one or two beams already. Presumably Magnetite's control was giving them some courage.

What it gave in courage, it had taken away in speed and control. Ranma had found no challenge in evading their attacks and using them to his advantage thus far. He guessed that the free Senshi would have little trouble beating their enslaved teammates, and once would be enough to get them in one spot.

The Mount Phoenix guards were chaff in this battle, but could potentially tip the battle against the free Senshi if they swarmed them. Which they might be inclined to do, given their lack of success against Ranma. The Amazon scouts had reported at least twenty bird men were in the mountain, of which six were in the shaft now; one of these was still recovering from icing and would not be combat effective for a few minutes at least, but they were aerial troops by nature and had a great advantage in this place.

Ranma could handle them all, or mostly, himself, but someone had to keep Magnetite himself occupied. That left Ryoga and Shampoo as extra factors. One or both could take on the guards, and one of them helping him would make Magnetite that much more under control. But he didn't expect to get much time to give orders.

He was right.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Ranma was first off the mark, leaping back from Ukyo. A split second later Shampoo was jumping out into the shaft, landing on the nearest beam. Ryoga hesitated as Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus filled the space between them and Magnetite with fire, lightning, and energy.

He was expecting the attacks; he dropped down, allowing the lightning and energy balls to go overhead. Mars tracked him with her stream of fire rings, setting two beams alight, including the one Sailor Moon, Ukyo, and Ranma were on. Ranma was surprised by the new attack; it looked like it could make a Hiryu Shoten Ha attack useable in the shaft. But he could not spare a moment to change his plans.

First, Ranma had to deal with the complication caused by the fire on his beam. Sailor Moon was wailing her distress, trapped between the spreading fire and Ukyo. Fortunately, Ukyo was focused on Ranma.

He backpedaled, leading Ukyo away from Sailor Moon, giving Moon room of her own to back up. When he reached the point on his beam nearest to the next one up he jumped, hoping to rebounding off the higher beam to land next to Sailor Moon. But she, in her panic, had fallen off the beam, barely catching herself on the next one below.

Magnetite had now gotten his shot off. It seemed to be a ball of compressed air, a whirling globe of wind, which shot over the heads of the free Senshi and exploding behind them. Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Ryoga all went flying out into the shaft, catching themselves on two different beams, all separated. Sailor Moon was one beam above the highest of them.

Shampoo passed her on the way up and kept going, dodging potential fire first and looking for the best place to contribute to the fight. The young Amazon seemed to have some new gear: a purple sword glowing with red sparks, a breastplate not unlike the one she counted among her own posessions, and a few trinkets. She jumped much farther and moved faster than he had seen before, as well. He was relieved when she decided to handle the Ukyo problem for him, making her way to his fiancee. She had never beaten Shampoo in sparring.

Ukyo hadn't forgotten, either. "This time I beat you!"

Shampoo casually dodged Ukyo's lunge and cut the head off the spatula. She followed up with a pommel to Ukyo's head, knocking her on her butt. "You still not ready for Amazon fighting."

"What are you guys doing?" Jupiter cried as Mercury dropped down to her and threw a punch. "We're all Sailor Senshi! We're on the same side!"

"Magnetite's got them under control!" Uranus said as she dodged blows from Neptune. "Knock him out and we get them back!"

"No!" Ranma said. He was preparing to leap toward Magnetite. "We get them back with the guinzuishou! Get them in one place! Sailor Moon, get ready!"

"Got it!" The Moon Stick appeared in Sailor Moon's hand.

Magnetite decided to give her a very short window to use it. "Guards! Up there! Get Sailor Moon!" The bird men, scattered by Mars' attack, now began to converge on the named target.

Ryoga jumped up to her beam in time to meet them. He grabbed one and threw the man with enough force to collide with another one, then readied his bandannas for anti-air fire. "Don't worry! I'll keep them off you!"

Shampoo picked up the stunned Ukyo like a sack of potatoes and threw her down toward the far end of Sailor Moon's beam before joining Ranma's leap. They converged on Magnetite as he floated behind the burning section of beam, power charging in his hands. He was suddenly surrounded by a globe of fire, followed by rings of lightning. Being in flight, the incoming martial artists could not stop themselves and flew through the barriers.

Ranma was washed by a wave of agony as he crossed the barriers. The force of his punch to Magnetite's head suffered for it. Shampoo seemed to survive the crossing without a grimace, probably due to her greater armor coverage; her sword would have impaled his heart if he had not dodged at the last instant, leaving him with only a burning flesh wound.

Both of them tried to hold on to Magnetite to stay inside his shields - Ranma certainly didn't want to cross them again. They fought a two-on-one wrestling match in midair, drifting down below the burning beam, before Magnetite summoned a wave of force to throw them off. Fortunately, his shields had dissipated during the fight.

Ranma recovered and readied another leap at Magnetite, sparing a glance at the Senshi battle. It was going as he had expected: Mercury, Venus, and Neptune were being thrown to the spot where Ukyo had landed, all of them piling in a heap. "Now, Sailor Moon!" Mars called.

The Moon Senshi needed no prompting; the bird men had regrouped and were rushing from all directions. Ryoga would not be able to stop them all. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

Everyone in the shaft shielded or averted their eyes as the light blazed forth, dazzling and sparkling. The bird men, rushing in upon Sailor Moon, were forced to pause and draw back, fearing a magic strange to them.

When it was done, Sailor Moon rushed to the Senshi on her own beam. "Okay! Now you're in for it, Magnetite! The tables ahve just turned! Go get him, guys!"

"I've got a better idea," Sailor Venus said, wrapping her chain around Sailor Moon. "How about we bring YOU before Queen Beryl?"

"Urk! What the HECK -? It didn't WORK!"

"Sailor Moon!" The free Senshi all prepared to jump up to aid their princess; they could not use ranged attacks with enough precision to pick off the guards holding her.

Given their fear of heights, Ranma estimated it would be a few seconds before they could get up to her. He could get to her faster. He made the jump easily, hoping Magnetite could wait.

Unfortunately, Shampoo and Ryoga had much the same idea. They both broke off and leaped toward Sailor Moon, knocking aside bird men as they arrived. Seconds later, the free Senshi made it up to them, making for a dense knot of people engaged in melee on the beam.

The crowd scene did have one benefit: Magnetite could not get a clear shot at anyone. He floated around them, looking for a better angle and laughing again at Sailor Moon's failure. "What's the matter, Sailor Moon? A bit weak right now, are you? Perhaps you used up too much power trying to cleanse me. It might take you days to recover. I'm sure Queen Beryl will keep those days... quite lively."

"Beryl won't lay a hand on her!" Ranma said. The free Senshi and martial artists were now winning out, throwing their attackers off for the moment. They formed a pocket around Sailor Moon. "Quick! Get her out of here!"

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Mars led the group to the tunnel exit at the end of their beam.

They were all surprised when Amazons began emerging from it, levelling weapons. "You all stay!"

Ranma's spirits soared again. More warriors were appearing from the exits at either end of the beam he was still on. "All right! Looks like it's game over for you, Magnetite. The Amazons beat your bird men at the entrances."

"The other way around, actually," said another new voice. The incoming Amazons moved aside to allow winged guards to pass. They started throwing eggs at the free group. The free Senshi were suddenly engulfed in white thready goop.

Ranma moved to free them, but their attackers were encouraged by the reinforcements and charged, starting a melee again. Ranma knocked one Phoenix guard away, then another, then turned to face a threat from behind. It was Sailor Neptune. He instinctively moved to block the punch she was throwing. Her magically enhanced strength proved to be on a par with Ryoga, sending Ranma flying off the beam and cathing the edge of the beam the free Senshi had just jumped up from.

He quickly climbed up to his feet and began moving to within jumping range. The formerly free Senshi were now all encased in what looked like giant eggs. Sailor Moon had apparently managed to avoid the same fate by dumb luck. Ryoga and Shampoo were busy getting swarmed by guards and Amazons alike.

Things were looking dim, but to Ranma the situation was still very straightforward: jump up, break the eggs, and help get bird men off of Shampoo and Ryoga. They looked to be able to hold out the few seconds necessary - Shampoo was moving faster than he was used to, and seemed to be hitting harder. It also helped that her sword seemed to be flaming.

But now Magnetite had found a good angle. Ranma found himself struck by a shadowy bolt of energy just as he leapt. He was slammed back against the wall of the shaft, stunned. He tried to rebound, but only weakly kicked off, sending him moving away from the wall, but still falling. There were no beams below him within reach.

The darkness yawned before him. A giant fish leaped up to swallow him. He fell into its mouth with a splash, again stunned by the impact, and began to sink into the depths.

Above him, light blazed. *Keep trying, Sailor Moon,* he prayed. *Never give up...*

The waters went down, and then up, and kept going for a very long way.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was looking to Ryoga as if rushing to the battle had not been the wisest idea.

It certainly seemed as if they had been doing well to bring those statues down on that giant egg. That should have put an end to the Dark Kingdom's plan here. But the bird woman had warned that "Lord Saffron" - apparently the person in the egg - was hard to kill. And indeed, as soon as they had gotten away from her the mountain had begun to shake, as if something powerful were waking up or coming back to life. Ryoga's martial senses hadn't stopped tingling since then, as if a massive chi source were somewhere in the mountain.

Now his senses were screaming that that chi source was right on top of him. Literally, from the angle of the light on the wood in front of his face. It was as if it were daytime outside and someone had taken off the roof.

At the moment, he was getting such a close look at the wooden beam because he was being held down by Sailor Neptune and half a dozen bird men. He wriggled under their grasp, but could not get an arm free of the chains that Sailor Venus had gotten from somewhere and now used very expertly. Not far away, Sailor Moon likewise wriggled in the grip of two bird-men holding her over the depths of the shaft.

He considered them lucky. At least they were still free. The reinforcements had thrown some sort of trick eggs at them, encasing Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus in some goop that had hardened into much larger eggs. He and Shampoo had fought heroically, nearly freeing Sailor Moon and their comrades, but with the numerical imbalance further against them than ever the outcome had not been in doubt. Even the extra speed and strength given him by the equipment looted from the youma had not been enough. When the bird men had thrown their remaining eggs at them, he had managed to escape being hit, but Shampoo had not been so lucky, and was now encased along with the other Senshi.

Magnetite made a dusting-of-hands gesture. "That cleans that up. Hmmm. It looks as if you've been looting my armory. Have to get that back and accounted for. As for our other prizes..."

He made a few mystic gestures, and suddenly the glare from above was replaced by pitch black. It was hardly surprising to Ryoga that a lord of the Dark Kingdom could banish light when he chose. He heard the eggs behind him crack, one by one, always followed by Magnetite's voice. "And who do you serve?"

"You, my lord," the three released Senshi said in turn. Suddenly Ryoga realized how Magnetite had subverted the other Senshi.

He had to do something. If he couldn't move, at least he could hear what was going on around him... and so could the released Senshi. "Resist him! Don't give in!"

"Quiet, you," Venus said. One of the loops of her chain snaked up to his neck, choking him into silence.

The last egg was cracked: Shampoo was being released. "Whom do you serve, my lovely?"

"ME!" Suddenly the darkness was dispelled. Magnetite was impaled on Shampoo's sword. She pulled it free and set upon the crowd holding Ryoga down, scattering them. Sailor Venus she gave a solid bonk on the head, dazing her, disrupting her concentration, causing her chain to dissolve. Now free, Ryoga joined her in leaping down several levels to escape through a tunnel exit.

Ryoga gulped in large breaths, thankful he could breathe easily again. "Glad at least you managed to resist that egg thing. However it works. I guess it's up to us to free the rest."

She stopped in the tunnel and looked at the walls and ceiling, then applied a few Breaking Point strikes to cut off pursuit. "Free them later. Run now!" Shampoo poured on the speed. Ryoga pressed himself to keep up.

"Wait! Do you know how to get out of here?"

"We find way! Or make way!"

Ryoga hoped they could at least find a tunnel close to the surface before they began digging.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The light in the shaft changed and the chi aura in the area grew overwhelming as their source approached. A young man, looking to be a grown-up version of the child Saffron that had cocooned himself in the upper chamber earlier that day, floated down to Magnetite. Evidently Saffron had hatched early. "Having a bit of trouble, are we, Magnetite?" he asked.

"Just mopping up," Magnetite said, spending a little of his power on closing the wound in his chest. "They will not evade me for long. You have finished your transformation already? I was told it would take three days."

"These landlings interrupted it. They disrupted Lord Saffron's transformation!" Kiima pointed her sword at the newly released Senshi. "My lord, I will bring the others to face your wrath." With his nod, she began giving orders to her guards, half with her following the exit the boy and girl had taken, the rest to fan out to other exits to cut them off.

Magnetite snapped his fingers as he recalled the gear Shampoo had been wearing - one piece in particular. "The ribbon! Make sure you take that ribbon off the girl's head before you try to egg her - it makes her immune to control."

"I will take off her entire head," Kiima promised, and left with her guards.

"He will be the last of them to deal with," Saffron said. "As for the rest, now that I have them at my mercy... I shall show none!" He powered up another large blast, aiming for the Senshi.

The fiery chi washed over the group of slaves... too far over. Magnetite had shielded them in a force-bubble. "I am sorry," he said. "These are MY kingdom's enemies. Their fates are MY queen's to decide. I shall bring them to her." He turned to his Senshi and Ukyo. "Take the princess out of here. I will meet you outside."

Saffron was naturally further engraged. "You dare thwart my rightful vengeance? Fool! I was going to grant you a swift and merciful death, but now I shall see you burn slowly!" He fired his next blast straight at Magnetite.

The Dark Kingdom general simply modulated his shields to handle fire; he drank deeply of the chi given to him. "Ah... so refreshing. I had spent rather a lot of power on fighting that ridiculously agile boy."

Saffron's expression changed from rage to surprise. "So. Your powers are indeed formidable. You will find they do not compare to mine. You WILL fall to the wrath of the lord of Mount Phoenix!"

"And YOU will find you have made your last mistake, using the power of life energy against the likes of ME! Give me your worst, for all the good it will do!"

Residents of the regions would later remark they had not suspected Jusendo was a volcanic mountain until it erupted.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The pipe seemed to go on forever. Ranma was about to pass out when he finally tumbled out the end of it.

He coughed and spluttered for breath for a few seconds, trying to clear his lungs of water. When he was finally able to breathe, he looked around to find he was in a moonlit crater.

It looked like it might once have been a cave; the walls were steep, in parts curving toward a roof now open to the stars. Debris was strewn all over the place. Ranma's hand brushed across a suspiciously regular piece, very smooth and round. A handle. He picked it up - moonlight glinted off the guinzuishou.

"The Moon Stick?" Ranma tried to remember what had happened back in the shaft. "She must have dropped it when those bird men grabbed her! But wait. That light. if that wasn't her, then what..."

The ground suddenly began to move. As a Japanese resident, Ranma had his share of experience with earthquakes, mostly minor; he did not know if this part of China was near any fault lines, but given Magnetite's presence and the Senshi left behind, he was willing to believe the tremor was artificial. He certainly did not want to stick around to see how bad it could get.

Climbing out of the crater was the easy part. Once on the downslope, Ranma found he could not keep his feet for all the shaking. He made his way down in a more or less controlled tumble. The explosion of the mountaintop behind him lit up the valley with a plume of fire and added dodging falling chunks of rock to his tumbling exercise.

He made it down in better shape than anyone else could have. It was as hard as some of his father's more ridiculous training sessions. Which left Ranma grating at having to admit his father had done the right thing... sometimes.

The flames coming from the top of the mountain provided enough light to plot a path safely around the pools and down the western edge of the valley. He managed to make out a couple of moving figures before the shaking and flaming subsided. He headed toward them, hoping they weren't some of Magnetite's youma or more of those bird-men.

There was one last explosion behind him - a small one. He looked back to see a glow at the base of the mountain - the glow of Shampoo's sword. She paused to seal the exit they had made, then ran as if the legions of Hell, or Mount Phoenix, were still hot on their heels.

Ranma shouted at them as they approached. "Yo, guys! Did anyone else make it?"

Ryoga shook his head. "Magnetite's got them under his spell now. Except Sailor Moon."

"Shampoo too strong for dark magic!" Shampoo boasted. "He try to control Amazon womans, but Shampoo not fall to charm!"

"She got egged, but it didn't take," Ryoga explained. "It's those eggs that brainwash people. If we can get our hands on some of them..."

Lotion and the guide were now approaching. "Eggs? What eggs? Where are the others?"

Ranma and explained what had happened in the mountain. Lotion's eyes went wide at the mention of Sailor Pluto's appearance. "The Lady! Alive! Such power Sailor Moon has, to free her... she has truly grown in recent days!"

"She has a long way to go," Ranma said, holding up the Moon Stick. "She wasn't strong enough to make it work all the way when she tried - made a pretty light show, but no effect. Then she went and dropped it during the fight. I guess we have to get it back to her."

"If she alive," Shampoo said.

"But what would THAT be?" Ranma asked. "I'm sure the free Senshi didn't have that much power."

"They were under Magnetite's control, too, when I left them," Ryoga said. "I guess it had to be Saffron." He explained what his group had found when they entered the upper chamber, and what the female guard had said it was.

"Saffron," Lotion mused. "That would explain much. He is indeed the lord of Mount Phoenix. A very powerful being - he has the chi of many thousands of people, and gives off enough energy to heat and light a small city. Which he more or less does, come to think of it. His light is usually seen near the top of the mountain, especially in winter."

"Sounds like the local utility," Ranma said. "And you haven't had a problem with this guy before?"

"The people of Mount Phoenix largely keep to themselves," Lotion explained. "We know that Saffron is immortal, as the phoenix itself, reborn after death. But he is not so powerful as a child. In fact it is about time he was becoming an adult, though we know so little about the details - what Magnetite was trying to do may have been accelerating the process. Or enhancing it, to judge by the way that part of the mountain exploded."

"Whatever he was trying to do, it looks like he got more than he could handle," Ryoga said. "I hope those bird-men got Kentucky Fried too. At least we wouldn't have to deal with them again."

"Most likely they know what their lord is capable of, and would have survived," Lotion guessed. "But for all our sakes, we should hope the Senshi survived, whether or not Magnetite has. Without them, there is simply no hope. Right now, all we can do is wait and see what the outcome is."

The explosions and earthquakes had apparently passed by now, but they had left a good deal of rubble around the mountain. They had no trouble arranging a good hiding spot to observe whatever came out. Shampoo lay her sword on the ground and covered it with dirt to hide the glow. Their eyes soon adjusted to the moonlight.

"So," Ryoga asked, "what are the odds they knock each other out?"

"Better than we deserve," Ranma said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite sweated in concentration as he chanted and gestured. Runes were being written in the air in circles around Saffron. The Lord of Mount Phoenix was already under sedation from the many rings that surrounded him. With this last ring complete, he would be bound well enough to hold for up to a day. That should be long enough to get him to his laboratory and set up in a more permanent fixture.

A few final words, and the last ring was complete. Saffron's own power was turned upon itself, feeding the bindings, with a generous extra amount siphoned off to Magnetite. He sighed in relief. "Such power... I would not have thought a single being could generate so much life energy. Is this truly the power of the Phoenix?"

He shook his head, trying to dismiss such concerns. Time enough to investigate the matter later. Right now he had to make sure his captives were still his. He did not entirely trust chemical mind control. Magic was far more a known quantity to him. He would eventually have to perform the proper enslavement spells on the Senshi... if Queen Beryl allowed them to live.

The shaft was a wreck; all the wooden beams crisscrossing it had burned away in the fight, the roof had blown off, and the walls were scorched and melted. He tried to remember which way the Senshi had gone, then tried sensing their direction from their power emanations. There, that way in general. Which meant one of these tunnels...

Bird men were now coming out of several of them. All were dumbfounded, then horrified, at what they saw. Kiima flew up from a lower level to confront Magnetite. "Lord Saffron... what have you done to him? Release him!"

"He serves the Dark Kingdom now," Magnetite said easily. "Rest assured, we shall make good use of him."

"But this... this is impossible! He is a GOD! A god cannot be bound!"

"Then I must be a stronger and more worthy god, am I not? In truth, I should be your true god, for you would not be what you are without the magic of Jusenkyo, which I created. Serve me, and you will be well rewarded."

Kiima was enraged. "Never! I see now the truth of this Dark Kingdom of yours. We SHALL free our lord Saffron! I regret only that there is no death horrible enough for you!" She motioned to her guards. "All at once! THOUSAND WINGS OF THE SEABIRD ATTACK!"

Their wings swept forward as one, filling the air with feathers. When it was clear again, Magnetite's position was occupied by a fluffy-looking sphere. A simple gesture threw the feathers away from his shield in the directions they had come from, with as much speed as they had hit with. The bird-men were perforated with their own projectiles. Several fell dead at the bottom of the shaft.

Kiima was pinned to the wall by her wings, bleeding from wounds on her body. She grit her teeth through the pain. "You... you will not survive our wrath..."

"I rather think you are now irrelevant. Go, get more of your men. They will meet the same fate." He turned back to his task of finding Sailor Moon and his Senshi.

He eventually found them beyond a collapsed section of tunnel, easily reopened with some earthshaping. They seemed none the worse for wear. Sailor Moon was still conscious, and shaking like a leaf, scared out of her mind.

*And well she should be,* Magnetite thought. Things were not looking well for her. "You need not worry," he said. "The danger is now past. Other than the fact that your ultimate fate is still the same - Beryl will do as she will. But the mountain will not fall now that Saffron is under my control. Now. I don't want you recovering your strength and using the guinzuishou before Beryl can force it from you, so I will have to take it in hand now."

"I... I don't have it," she stammered out.

Magnetite gave her a condescending look. "Please. You can do better than that."

"It's true! I dropped it when those bird men hit me. It fell down the shaft!"

Magnetite sighed. "Well, that's going to be a bother. There's a lot of debris down there right now. It would hardly do to go before Queen Beryl without it. At least it shouldn't be hard to find." He gestured to Sailors Venus and Jupiter. "Bring her to the shaft. I will be there shortly."

Kiima and her surviving troops were gone when he returned to the shaft. They were of no consequence to him; if they wanted to throw themselves at him here, or try to force the portal to the Dark Kingdom, they would soon find themselves outnumbered. From what he recalled, the entire population of Mount Phoenix was still less numerous than the remaining youma, even after the Senshis' invasion the day before.

The Senshi waited on the edge of the shaft as Magnetite moved Saffron away from the mountain a safe distance; he did not want any difficulties in sensing the guinzuishou's power. "I don't suppose you have ever had to find the guinzuishou when it was hidden before? Concentrate. It should not be hard to sense."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "I'm not good at this kind of stuff! I'm not like Mars! She's the one with the weird feelings all the time!" She turned to Mars. "You try it!"

Mars closed her eyes in concentration for a few seconds. "No. I definitely can't get anything."

Magnetite sighed. "Useless children. Hardly any training in the arts that will rule their lives." He concentrated, knowing it should not be hard to find the most powerful mystic item in the world, but even he found nothing in the area. "Hmm. Perhaps if this debris were removed..."

He spent several minutes levitating rubble and burnt logs out of the shaft, sifting though it for signs of his objective, and left a clear bottom to search through. Once the bottom of the shaft was clear, he found something interesting - a pipe styled as a fish, with brush and coffee mug attatched to the fins.

He had to chuckle at the sight of the thing. "What do you want to bet it fell in there? And probably that boy with it. He is causing entirely too much trouble for a mere human." He turned to the Senshi. "Tear this mountain apart! Find the guinzuishou! And if that boy has it, kill him!"

"Yes, master!" They headed for the tunnels to search.

Magnetite threw Sailor Moon at the wall of the shaft and performed a short chant to turn to rock to mud, then harden it again. The Moon Princess was frozen halfway into the wall. "That ought to hold you for a while. I must say, you don't look very happy."

"Why should I be happy? This has been the worst day of my entire life! I've frozen my butt off at the North Pole, gotten groped by some hentais out of Arabian Nights, chased by your youma all over the place, Tuxedo Mask has gotten lost, Sailor Pluto's run away and now you've got my friends under your spell! And now I'm missing school!" She was getting hard to understand beneath her tears. "What am I going to tell mom?"

"Fear not," Magnetite said. "Our triumph is at hand. Beryl will break you to her will, and then we shall find your family and bring them in as well. And if Beryl decides to kill you... well, they will likely be just as dead as you in a few days."

Somehow, that wasn't encouraging.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranma was just beginning to feel the winter chill when there was light at the base of Jusendo. It was a line of torches, snaking down to the foot of the pools, passing safely away from their position. Ranma saw it was the bird men and Amazons, looking rather bedraggled.

Shampoo's face contorted in anger. "They enslave Amazon womans! They die!" She reached down for the hilt of her sword.

Lotion stayed her hand. "Let me do the talking. Freeing them may not be so simple a matter. The rest of you, be ready."

"Uhhh... they still kinda outnumber us," Ryoga pointed out.

"In their condition, you could take the lot of them. I suspect they would know it. Let us see what happens."

The rest followed as she hopped out to the line and started speaking in the local dialect. The woman of the group responded, apparently being in some authority. The next few minutes of exchanges seemed to Ranma to be quite heated. Finally the leader of the bird-men threw up her hands in a gesture of helplessness, then gave orders to the Amazon girls under her control. The Amazons walked over to Lotion and knelt before her.

Lotion turned to Ranma. "It seems that they can be freed, or given a new master, simply by commanding it."

Ranma noticed that Tatewaki Kuno was among the Amazons' number. "You think you could give me him? I got a few orders I'd like to try out..."

"I imagine you would, but this is no time for petty revenge. That one girl that came with you... Akane was her name? He seemed to be smitten with her, but I do not think he knows how to treat a woman with the proper respect. I will give him to her. If she just sets him free without any changes, she deserves what she gets."

The bird woman then addressed them. "Captain Kiima, of Mount Phoenix. I do admit I never really trusted this Magnetite. I might be willing to listen to your proposal in the morning. We must rest and regroup..."

"Name's Ranma Saotome," Ranma said. "I've been fighting Magnetite for a while, and I can tell you he won't wait till morning. He has what he wants, he has no reason to wait around for you guys. He's going to be gone before dawn. Maybe less than an hour, actually. You want your prince back, you'll have to scramble."

"That would be... difficult. We cannot really fly in the darkness - our night vision is... not the best. If he stays in Jusendo much longer, we may be able to help."

"If he discovers that Sailor Moon does not have the guinzuishou, he will want to stay to search the mountain," Lotion said. "We may have some time." She turned back to Kiima. "I speak on behalf of my people - we will be willing to call a truce if you will work together with us on this."

"Very well," Kiima said. "I will gather our forces and meet you here. Bring what warriors you can. Bear in mind our priority is our prince."

"Alright," Ranma said. "About those eggs. That was how the girls got mind controlled, wasn't it? Would they be freed if you egged them again, or something?"

"When the eggs encase someone, they become vulnerable to control. Whoever they first look upon when they emerge is their new master. It does not matter if they were under control before or not. If you become their new master, you can simply order them to be free if you wish."

"That works." Ranma turned his back to the bird men for a moment and removed the guinzuishou from the Moon Stick. He handed it to Lotion. "The eggs will be backup. They'll give us options - we can free the Senshi before Sailor Moon, or after. Sailor Moon can cure mind control with just the stick. I'd rather keep the big prize out of Magnetite's reach if we can help it."

Lotion took the guinzuishou and hid it under the folds of her robes. "He will not find it. If he should emerge before we are ready, follow him, but do not engage. I will be back as soon as I can." She quickly disappeared into the night.

Kiima also turned to her guards. "Koruma, Masara, stay with them and keep watch. Take note if they do anything suspicious. If they move to betray us, kill them."

The two sides settled into a tense circle as they waited for their reinforcements. "Ummm... see any good movies lately?" Ryoga asked.

"There's no theaters here," Koruma said.

Ryoga sweatdropped. "This could be a long night..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite was a patient man. He had spent the better part of two hours sifting through the burnt logs and shattered rubble at the bottom of the great shaft, hoping the guinzuishou was somewhere underneath. He could have spent all night looking there and tearing the mountain apart in search of his quarry if there were no other matters pressing.

Unfortunately, Saffron would not keep until morning. The makeshift runes binding him were already starting to deteriorate. He needed to be moved to one of the permanent fixtures for energy siphon in his labs. Still, the runes should last a few hours longer, and if Magnetite had any prospect of finding the guinzuishou in the shaft, he should have it in hand by then.

Which was why he was more than a bit fearful when he had removed enough debris to uncover the pipe intake at the bottom of the shaft. It was fashioned as a fish, perhaps someone's idea of appropriate decor, as the shaft was supposed to be a reservoir, with most of its height filled with water and the tunnel exit doors closed to hold it in. It was still possible the guinzuishou had fallen to one side, but he had the Sailor Senshi under his command, and could have them do the dirty work. His powers were better used finding where the guinzuishou, and most likely that annoying boy, could have gone through this pipe. With the bird men no longer on his side, there would be nothing to keep the boy from running miles away into the wilderness.

Magnetite closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to feel out the local earth, sending his senses into the pipe. It wound down some distance, then up to the top of the mountain, through a magical field that pumped it up, and out to the basin chamber recently vacated by Saffron.

He frowned as he saw the state of the chamber. Evidently Saffron's emergence had been quite violent. The roof of the chamber had fallen, leaving the basin exposed to the night sky. No doubt the destruction of the chamber had been responsible for one of the tremors he had felt in the shaft while fighting Ranma. He had been too distracted by the fight at the time to notice.

He sighed in resignation. No doubt the boy was long gone. Best to look about for possible hiding places.

He levitated as much of the remaining debris as he could manage out of the shaft, leaving a fairly clean bottom, and turned to his slaves. "Uranus, keep looking down here. Mercury, Venus, search the debris on top of the mountain - I've left it spread out well enough you should just have to look things over and kick a few rocks around. The rest, split up and search the tunnels. I will look around the nearby area for the boy."

He had to go up well above the tops of the surrounding mountains, taking cursory looks at the nearby landscape. Denizens of the Dark Kingdom were at home in the darkness, most being able to see in it as easily as humans could see in daytime, by a variety of senses mundane or magical. Magnetite could see villages all over, some in the valleys, some on mountain slopes. Only Mount Phoenix seemed to be settled at the peak. He made a note to check there as well - the boy might be wily enough to hide among his recent enemies, even if he had to spend his time among them in a cell.

His search was interrupted by a cold presence in his mind. An all too familiar presence, never welcome, not that he could resist.

_Magnetite, report! Where are you and what have you been doing?_

At least he had much more to offer this time than he usually did. _My Queen, I have pursued the invaders through the adjustable portal I set up in my laboratory. They are now under my control, save for Sailor Moon herself. I trust you will want to break her to your will yourself._

She would be able to sense any lies; a fact that had ensured her officers and youma rarely tried to hide anything from her. It made her confident she could trust them, so she would not question the facts of a report, however outlandish they may seem. _The Sailor Senshi? In your power? How were you able to accomplish that?_

_With the help of some local allies, since dispensed with. The effect is merely chemical, not magical, so I am not confident of it lasting more than a few days._

_It will not have to. You have done well, Magnetite. Bring them to me. Bring them all to me and our victory over the Moon Kingdom shall finally be complete!_

Now came the risk. _My Queen, she does not have the guinzuishou on her. She has given it to another of her party, who is attempting to hide. _That was close enough to the truth, anyway. _It should not take long for me to find him, and then our victory will truly be complete._

The coldness of her presence turned warm - a sign of anger. It was mercifully brief. _Do not tarry overlong, Magnetite. Bring them all to me at once! I have some new ways of getting Sailor Moon's compliance that I wish to test. She will not hold out against me for long._

_At once, my queen._ Magnetite turned back toward Jusendo to gather the Sailor Senshi once again. His mind raced with calculations. The bird men were now enemies of his, but not necessarily allies of Ranma. Best to be sure they did not cause any trouble, however. And those female warriors... they had come from that village to the west. If Kiima were smart, she would have given them their freedom in exchange for aid against him. He would have to hit that village too.

Looking down on the pools of Jusenkyo, he also decided he could spare a few minutes to finish the job on them. If he could not get the guinzuishou immediately, Beryl would probably send him back with a team of youma to look for it, and he did not want any hazard from the pools. Plus, it was still more energy reclaimed.

He dove to the top of Jusendo, where Mercury and Venus were searching through the debris as best they could by torchlight. They came to attention as he landed. "Master! No sign yet!" Venus said.

"Don't bother. It won't be here. Gather the others and meet me at the foot of the cursed lake. We will be leaving this place forthwith."

"As you command!" They saluted and made their way into the mountain.

Magnetite floated down to the bottom of the exposed shaft and repeated his orders to Sailor Uranus, who was also having no luck finding the ginzuishou. Then he levitated Saffron out of the shaft and made his way down the mountain with the glowing youth in tow. The dark energies keepiing him bound and siphoning his energies also kept him afloat off the ground, allowing him to be pulled frictionlessly along, and smothered the light of his chi field somewhat, though he still lit up the valley as a beacon. Surely there would be eyes in the darkness, but with the light of Saffron playing over the area, any attackers would have the darkness to hide in.

He set himself up at the edge of the cursed lake, at the point where he had begun his battle against Ranma, keeping Saffron just a little behind him, and calmed himself, preparing his enchants once again. The remaining energy in the pools of Jusenkyo was not much compared to what he could draw from the lord of Mount Phoenix, but he did want to tidy up lose ends before he went. And Queen Beryl might order him to return here with a team of youma to search for the guinzuishou, if Sailor Moon proved too tough a nut to crack. It would not do to have a magical hazard like this lying about. The pools had served their purpose; if the Dark Kingdom wished to curse someone, the curse could always be cast directly by a capable mage such as himself.

And so he resumed his task of earlier in the day, finishing what he had started, unravelling the last curses of Jusenkyo and reclaiming their power for himself.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You guys speak pretty good Japanese," Ranma observed of the bird men.

Koruma shrugged in the darkness. "Guards like us have to infiltrate humans for some things. We're both rated for foreign operations. We had to draw lots for areas to study. We got Japan."

Masara sighed. "I wish I'd got Vietnam or Thailand. Someplace warm."

"Better than Russia. You might have had to learn some Altaic or Turkic gobbledygook."

"There many language and dialect here," Shampoo reminded Ranma. "Shampoo know little bit of many things. Never study Japanese before come to Japan. Never think would need it."

"Might be a good idea, with all the martial artists finding their way - shh. I think he's coming out."

Light flared at the top of the mountain. Magnetite was pulling something very bright down the slope, lighting up the valley. "Lord Saffron," Masara seethed. "If only we had some way to free him."

The kept still, hidden low amid the rubble thrown clear by the explosions earlier, as their enemy made his way down to the cursed lake he had created earlier by merging several pools together. He stopped and began what looked to Ranma like a Tai Chi exercise, though with some unusual hand movements. Glowing runes and streamers of light soon surrounded him.

"That's what he was doing before," Koruma said. "So pretty..."

"He's taking the last energy from the pools," Ranma said. "Maybe he's about to leave and doesn't expect to be back."

"The portal!" Ryoga said. "If he isn't going to be back, he won't need it anymore! He might close it! We could be stuck here!"

"So what can we do?" Masara said. "He kicked our butts when there were dozens of us against him."

"We better hope Captain Kiima gets here with everybody else pretty soon," Koruma said. "I don't know how long we can delay him if he starts moving before then."

"We have some hidden weapons," Ryoga said. "A lot of the youma we saw coming back through the tunnels had armor and weapons they didn't usually have. The ones we killed, we kept any extra stuff - that's where me and Shampoo got this stuff." He flexed his fingers, showing off his gloves. "There was a lot of stuff we couldn't carry. Some of it is close to the portal out here, more hidden in the tunnels on the other side. We should try to get it before anyone else comes. It'll really help."

The bird men weren't very happy, but they weren't comfortable being out at night in any event; they decided they had no choice. Ryoga led the way, passing behind Magnetite on his way to the west side of the valley and making his way down to the portal.

They were nearly there when they spotted a line of torches coming from the south on the other side of the valley. It was much longer than the line of bird men that had left that way heading back to Mount Phoenix earlier. Every man had a torch; Ranma counted at least a hundred. "Looks like a lot. How many of you are there?"

"Enough," Masara said.

"You hope," Ryoga guessed. "From what I've seen, numbers aren't all that useful against a guy like him."

The line started moving faster, streaking toward Magnetite and his beacon. By this time Magnetite had finished his work and was coming their way down the valley of now-mundane pools, with all the Senshi in tow. Sailor Moon had her hands bound behind her back. The others walked freely.

"They'll want to attack immediately!" Masara said. "Quick! Where are those weapons?"

Ryoga showed them to a spot near the portal and began digging. In less than a minute Koruma was wielding a new sword, Masara an axe. They looked ready to charge across the pools to join the coming fight, but it was still too dark across the distance for them to feel comfortable finding their way.

Energy began to sparkle around one of the Senshi as the bird-men approached. Suddenly dense fog covered the area - a fog dimly lit by Saffron's light.

"Dammit!" Koruma swore. "That guy just has no end of tricks!"

"It's the Senshi," Ryoga said. "They'll slaughter your people!"

There were no sounds of explosions to indicate a battle. "Maybe Magnetite just wants to get away fast and easy," Ranma guessed. "Come on, we gotta hide before he comes. The Senshi can still see in this fog."

They felt their way along the slope until they came to the portal cave, then ducked behind the rocks above the entrance. The light around them grew very bright; there was a palpable feeling of energy in the air, which the martial artists recognized as an overwhelming chi field. They could hear Magnetite's voice as he addressed his captive Senshi. "Hmmm. I would have put the guard detail out here rather than inside. No matter. I will go in first to warn them that you are with me. Wait for me."

"Yes, master!" the Senshi chimed.

"If only we had some eggs..." Koruma wispered. "Now would be the perfect time to hit them!"

"Would Kiima try to come through the fog?" Ryoga asked.

"No," Masara said. "We hate anything that makes it hard to see."

"How long will this fog last?" Koruma asked.

"Ten or fifteen minutes, once the Senshi are gone," Ranma said.

Magnetite's voice again. "Come in one at a time. They will want to bind you all to be sure."

"What about the bird men?" they heard Venus ask. "They will attack as soon as they can see again."

"Those insects will not bother us. I can cut the portal off once you are all through."

"What!" Koruma said. "We can't let him do that! We have to get in first!" He rose to jump over the rocks hiding their position, only to be hauled down by Shampoo.

"We wait," Ranma said. He counted their footsteps. "Six... seven... eight should be Magnetite himself..." But there was a sound of earth moving. "Now! Go!"

They leaped over the rocks to land in front of the cave entrance - which was walled up in smooth rock.

"Dammit!" Koruma said. "We're too late!"

"Heh," Ryoga said, cracking his knuckles. "This is nothing." He hit the rock with a Breaking Point strike. It was only a foot thick. The hole he made was wide enough to walk through.

"Now we can wait for Kiima," Ranma said, settling in front of the portal inside the cave.

"How about you go in and check things out first?" Masara said. He and Koruma shoved Ranma and Ryoga into the portal.

The room on the other side had about eight youma in it, all armed and armored, mostly big bruiser types. "Uh oh," Ranma whistled.

Shampoo hit him in the back as she came through, then saw what they were up against. "Aiya. I get bird men." She turned to head back out to fetch them - only to smack into the wall behind her. "Aiya! Where it go?"

Ranma and Ryoga looked back to see that they were trapped. Their eyes went wide. "Oh crap."

The fight would be intense.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Magnetite smiled as he heard the sounds of fighting behind him. He had told the youma on guard that they should not leave until he had shrunk the portal to microscopic size to block intruders. It sounded as if at least a few had made it through before he could finish his chant. It could not be more than a handful, though. Easily handled by those youma.

He led the Senshi, now all bound in crystal, toward Beryl's throne room, calculating as he went. He had absorbed great power in the past day, greater than he had known Kunzite to have. With the Senshi at his back, and Saffron to draw upon, did he truly have enough to challenge Beryl herself for kingship? Dare he?

Any of his predecessors would have. Metallia would not interfere; it stood above such things, reckoning that underlings that could keep their own subordinates in check did not deserve their positions. It would come down to Beryl's resources against his.

And he did not know enough about her resources, the loyalty of the rest of the youma of the Dark Kingdom, to know just what those resources might include. He felt her powers still greater than his; by how much, he could not guess. If he had enough youma side with him at the start, or held up well against her long enough, hers would start to question their choice; some would switch sides. But would it be enough?

He shook his head. Too risky, still too risky. He was still very conservative when it came to power and position. Only move when you know you can win. He would play it safe.

He thus arrived in the throne room and knelt before Beryl. "My Queen, I present. YOUR Sailor Senshi. Sailor Senshi, kneel before your Queen!"

They did so. Beryl's smile was unusually warm. "Excellent, Magnetite. And what is this?" She rose from her throne and strode gracefully to Saffron. "An extra present? Such power... where did you find him?"

"A minor lordling of the Jusenkyo area. He accepted alliance, then tried to betray us. As you can see, his power rivals the guinzuishou! With him, we do not need it to awaken Metallia!"

"Rival the guinzuishou?" Beryl scoffed. "Did he vaporize an entire mountain? Perhaps you do not recall, but Serenity was known to vaporize comets and meteors that threatened her worlds, before she gained enough control to simply change their orbits. Do not overestimate your prize... or yourself."

Magnetite bowed again, this time in humility. "Of course, my queen. Forgive me."

"Metallia will certainly benefit, as you say. Take him down to the cocoon at once and set him up. I would see how long he will last." She then strode to one of the captives, conspicuously not in Senshi fuku. "And this one? One of those mere mortals who tried to distract us by forcing the Tokyo portal, if I recall."

"I believe it is the lover of the boy who was host to Sailor Pluto," Magnetite explained. "She has proven far below his level."

"Nevertheless, if he yet survives to cause us trouble, she could be of some use. I wonder what powers she might have hidden in her...?"

She held up her hands and began to cast her spell.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They had been better fighters than previous youma. Ranma had to admit their skills were respectable compared to many he had seen before. If Shampoo or Ryoga had not been geared in the armor of their previously defeated foes, they might not have stood up to two or three at a time. Ranma didn't think HE could, but fortunately they had not realized he was the greatest threat of all until too late.

One by one they had fallen as Ranma had given Shampoo and Ryoga openings. He had picked up a scimitar from one of the fallen, then a pair of bracers that he could put on quickly - boots and such would have to wait until after the action - and whittled the enemy numbers down faster. Now they were down to only two, and Ranma was moving in on one.

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" The youma was not particularly fleshy and resilient, allowing the shock of over a hundred blows in a few seconds briefly disrupt it. Ryoga's fist then made the disruption permanent, with whatever enchantment it had - Ranma was still not clear on it, and he didn't think Ryoga was either.

The last youma was a bunny-girl. She was armed with a small dagger and had been trying to get inside Shampoo's guard for the past few minutes, to no avail. Now her eyes went wide as she realized she was the last youma standing. "Oh oh..."

The relevant survival traits for rabbits were speed and agility, which the bunny girl demonstrated she had in abundance as she jumped away from the three martial artists and fled toward the outer chambers. Ryoga quickly gave chase. "Stop it before it warns Beryl!"

"Ryoga! NO!" But it was too late. Ryoga was gone after the fleeing rabbit, and Ranma and Shampoo could only give chase.

They bounced through the laboratories, destroying various tables, cabinets, and experimental apparatus in their pursuit. Beyond the labs were a series of ordinary tunnels, which the youma must have known by heart: it ran down a confusing series of branches and turns, eventually bolting through a small hole that barely fit it. *Usagi has nothing on this one...* Ranma thought.

Ryoga simply widened the hole with his fists. The wall was not thick; the cave on the other side had many pillars. The bunny girl dodged and weaved among them as the humans gave chase.

The ceiling of the cavern rose; the pillars became stalagmites and stalactites. The ground gave way too a foul-smelling, bubbling lake with stalagmites affording a precarious way across. The bunny girl easily leaped from one to another, sure of its footing.

Ranma had done exercises like this, as had Shampoo. They easily kept pace, chasing their quarry to a stone demon head in the opposite wall. The youma jumped to the mouth, grabbing the teeth, and went inside. Ranma and Shampoo followed, Ryoga struggling to keep up as he had to check his balance at each jump.

The tunnel beyond went some ways, with a few branches left and right and some rubble strewn along its length. Finally they came to a point where the tunnel had completely collapsed. The youma seemed quite surprised at this. "Ack! But it was clear just a few minutes ago!"

"Too too bad," Shampoo said. "You is trapped now." She charged ahead, sweeping her blade in front of her. The youma jumped over her, just above the blade, and hopped on Ranma's head on its way to backtrack to a clear branch.

It never made it: Ryoga came up just before the branch. Again the youma was surprised - more so than the first time, for this time it smashed face first into his chest. This knocked the wind out of him. The bunny-girl was also dazed, long enough for Shampoo arrive and thrust her sword through its back.

The group sighed in relief and stood there for a moment to catch their breath. Once they had done so, Ranma laid into Ryoga. "Great. Just great. So we chased it down. So where does that leave us?"

Shampoo pulled out her well-worn map from her breastplate. "Where was we?"

Ranma looked at the map he had drawn before their invasion. He turned it on its side, then upside down. "Heck if I know. It's not going to be on here, that much is sure. We were never supposed to go in those labs."

Ryoga had now caught up. "You got it? Great. Now how do we get back?"

"We don't," Ranma said. "We're lost. All I can guess is, she was headed to Beryl, so the throne room must be ahead somewhere. It's going to be full of youma. Even with what we can do now, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"Well, I don't think there's any way back behind us. I, ah, think some of those pointy rock things fell down..."

"Riiight. And we're doing no good just standing here. Looks like we have to take one of these branches."

"So tell us which one. You drew our maps..."

"I only looked at the main tunnels. I never saw this one." He looked down the nearest branch. The rubble was thick at this point in their shaft, and the branch looked to be knee-deep in pulverised rock.

Ryoga came to Ranma's side. "Hey wait a minute. This looks like one of my tunnels."

"Aha! So then you must have been here before. So, YOU show us the way."

"I didn't say I was ever here!" Ryoga shot back. "I only said it LOOKS like one of mine." He looked up and down the tunnel they were in. "I don't remember this place. Though I do have to admit I wasn't paying too close attention to where I was before ..."

Ranma threw up his hands. "I gave you a sense of direction! It's not MY fault if you don't use it!"

"Like you're any better! You're just as lost as I am!"

Shampoo's sword whistled through the air between them. "Is no time for fight. We go. There is patrols."

"Go where?" Ryoga asked. "I just said we were lost!"

"You really don't remember this one? Then what do you mean you've never been here before?"

"Baka! I'm saying this is a tunnel made with the Bakusai Tenketsu!"

Ranma paused to digest that for a second. "So... you mean someone who KNOWS the Bakusai Tenketsu made it? Which means..."

"Someone else who knows it is down here," Ryoga finished. "But who?"

"Aiya! Great Grandmother! She alive!" Shampoo was almost dancing with joy.

"I wouldn't think so," Ranma said. "Last I saw of her, I was pretty sure she was going to be dead. But even so..." He started making his way into the branch. "I think we ought to go this way."

They started moving forward, senses on hair trigger. *This is crazy,* Ranma knew. *Lost in the middle of the Dark Kingdom, just the three of us against an army of youma... it's like something out of a bad movie...*

They went as fast as the rubble allowed. The branch tunnel went down some ways before connecting to another tunnel, this one largely clear, but blocked to one side by another collapse. "Looks like this is the only way," Ryoga said.

"Looks awfully convenient to me," Ranma said. "I have an idea who it might really be..."

They continued along the new tunnel, also heading downwards, until it emerged at a large chamber. The three stopped to take in who and what was there.

Ranma was not entirely surprised. Ryoga was. "You gotta be kidding me..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The throne room was once again crowded with youma, their numbers somewhat less than just a few days earlier but still easily in the hundreds. Tunnel patrols were no longer a priority with the Senshi now all accounted for; the martial artists, skilled though they may be, were no threat as far as anyone still knew. Everyone wanted to see the final victory of the Queen over the Princess.

Beryl was thoroughly enjoying the moment. The Senshi surrounded Sailor Moon in a circle with Beryl at their head - they were HER bodyguards now, her toys to do with as she wished. Now only one thing remained to make her victory complete. "And now, Princess, you will give me the guinzuishou. Perhaps I will let you live if you hand it over willingly."

Sailor Moon's tears had run out long ago. Now there was cold, steely anger in her eyes. "You're lucky I don't still have it. You and Magnetite and all these youma would be soooo dead right now."

Beryl sighed. "You will tell me where it is."

"Don't know. I lost it in the fight."

"My Queen?" Sailor Venus now spoke up. "Magnetite had us searching Jusendo for it, but we couldn't find it. He thought Ranma might have it."

"And where would this Ranma be right now?"

"Probably the Amazon village..."

"That might be too obvious," Sailor Mercury said. She summoned her computer. "He would take it somewhere far away to be really safe. I might be able to track it if I were in the area..."

Beryl wouldn't hear of it. "You and your Moon Kingdom toys! It should be very simple. The guinzuishou is bound to you, Princess. Now that it is in one piece again, and you have used it, you should be able to summon it to you wherever it is."

"You can't make me!"

"I'm sure THEY can." She waved to the Senshi. "Can't you, my pretties?"

They all hung their heads. "What would you have us do, my Queen?" Venus asked.

Beryl silently cursed. The control afforded by the chemical methods of these bird men Magnetite had mentioned left something to be desired. The Senshi seemed unwilling to do anything they would not have done when free. Endymion would be no more useful; he would need a week to properly break. With only one day in the bed, she dared not ask him to harm his princess.

There was one more thing to try before forcing the matter of the Senshis' loyalty. "Step back," she ordered.

The Senshi all stepped back several paces. Beryl began chanting, taking several minutes to draw a complicated magic circle around Sailor Moon. When she had finished, she paused for a moment. "With this circle, your willingness will not be a factor in summoning the guinzuishou. I will use you as a focus to get it. Just to let you know, it will hurt."

It was indeed like pulling teeth, but all over her body. Sailor Moon screamed her lungs out. The Senshi moved away, not wanting to see or hear.

Finally, after several minutes, Beryl stopped. "Most unusual. It seems your friends have not only hidden the guinzuishou - they must have some sort of magical protections for it. Perhaps if I merely scry..."

She returned to her throne and began to work her crystal ball. Sailor Moon found being used as a focus for scrying was not outright painful, but it gave her a creepy feeling that she thought was almost as bad. She whimpered and sweated through it as Beryl tried to conjure an image.

Beryl did not have to wait long to get one; the guinzuishou appeared against a featureless misty background. Beryl took this to mean Sailor Moon was trying to block the background image. "Such resistance! Fight if you wish. I have ways of getting the information I seek." She changed the motions of her hands slightly, sending shocks of electricity through Sailor Moon. She cried out in pain.

"I told you... I don't know... I can't see... even if I try..."

"Then try harder!" Beryl gave her another shock, then intensified her efforts to get a clear image of the background.

Beryl was suddenly angered as an shriek broke her concentration. It was not coming from anywhere close - she suddenly recognized it as an alarm. "Endymion! He has been disturbed! Someone is trying to take him!" She rose from her throne with unseemly haste and headed toward the room where she had placed Endymion, beckoning to the Senshi. "Come with me! And bring the princess. This might be a diversion. Whoever it is may come here to rescue Sailor Moon."

"Yes, My Queen," the group said. They dragged Sailor Moon with them, heading to save their Prince.

They arrived in the brainwashing chamber to find Endymion on the floor to one side of a dais. He dazed, seemingly just starting to wake up. There was no one else there.

"Endymion!" Beryl rushed to his side and cradled him in her arms. "Who was just here? Who did this to you? Did they try to kill you?"

Endymion's eyes came into focus. "Queen Beryl-sama?I... I don't know... I..."

The brainwashing had been going on only a day; Beryl had estimated it would take a week to turn Endymion fully. But one day's worth of the treatment should be enough to show the beginning of allegiance. She had to know for sure. "Prince Endymion, who do you serve?"

Endymion knelt before her. "I serve you, Queen Beryl-sama. Command me."

Beryl sighed in relief. "Stay by my side. It seems clear you are not safe anywhere else."

"Yes, my Queen." He rose and stayed close to her.

"Mamo-chan..." Sailor Moon whimpered at the sight of her love under her enemy's spell. "Please... no..."

Beryl turned to Sailor Moon. "So, Sailor Moon. Your prince is now mine. Would you perhaps be willing to trade the guinzuishou for him?"

"Mamo-chan..." Sailor Moon shook the tears from her eyes. "I... I CAN'T! I can't give it to you! It's like I said! I don't know where it is!"

An image came to mind of Magnetite - a magical sending. "Queen Beryl-sama! I am now able to report Saffron is fully ready."

Beryl swiftly tried to calculate the odds Magnetite had been the culprit. His image showed he was near to Metallia's chamber, not yet in it as they did not wish Saffron to be take by Metallia too soon. She had not sensed him teleporting here and back. Clearly he had indeed been at work all this time. Possibly a youma under his command could have done it. But his youma should ultimately be more loyal to her than to him. Still, he bore watching for any false moves.

There was only one way to find out for sure. She addressed the assembled Senshi. "I shall bring you before Queen Metallia. There you shall see the true power of the Dark Kingdom." And she could keep an eye on Magnetite. His powers were not especially great, even now. He could not hope to defeat her with the Senshi in attendance. If he tried anything, she would crush him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The chamber was as large as the throne room, at least. The tunnel Ranma, Ryoga, and Shampoo were in exited into the chamber high on the wall, above a walkway, and to the left of a central projection. From this vantage point they could see nearly everything in the chamber. However, what held their attention was not in the chamber itself, but on the lip of the tunnel.

"So," Ranma began. "I guess this is the real you."

Sailor Pluto lowered her eyes for a moment. "This is awkward for me, as well. I would have preferred not to ever see you again. But there are certain things you must know."

"What I'd like to know is, why me? Couldn't you have taken someone else? Like my pop?"

"You should know your father well enough to know he would not have worked. I needed to contact and work with the Senshi. He wouldn't. And you two were the only visitors going back to Tokyo between the time of the death of my last host and Shampoo's turn." She bowed deeply. "I thank you for serving as my host this past year. I am sorry for any inconvenience that might have brought you. I do not expect you to be grateful any time soon. But certain sacrifices are always necessary for the greater good."

"And you're all about the big picture, aren't you? You saw everything out from the beginning. You knew what would happen."

"I had hope," she said. "Even I could not fully predict what Happosai would do. And it was pure luck that I recovered from my reincarnation in time to get to the staff before Magnetite had it. He would have used it to stop time, and that would kill even me. Then Saffron would roam free, ever a threat... and would not be here to help us against Metallia."

Shampoo knelt before the woman she had almost hosted. "Shampoo would have gone!"

Sailor Pluto shook her head sadly. "Not in time. Your thoughts would have been to see to the safety of your village first and foremost. You would not look at the wider world before it was too late."

She turned to the chamber behind her and its contents. The room was filled with a large translucent cocoon attached by extensions to the ceiling and floor. It was and organic, living thing, having a large central ovoid with smaller ones above and below, and attatched to the ceiling and floor. There seemed to be a roiling, seething darkness in front of the main body.

"That darkness is a projected image," Pluto said. "It represents what is inside. That is the true enemy."

"So this Queen Metallia is supposed to be in there?" Ryoga said. "How can you tell it's a Queen?"

"That's what THEY call her," Ranma said. "I'm not so sure myself."

"Strictly speaking, it is genderless, and bodiless," Pluto said. "It has styled itself a Queen, so its servants have accepted it as such."

"And just how do we destroy it?" Ryoga asked.

"With the guinzuishou."

"But it's miles away right now," Ranma said, pulling the Moon Stick from his belt. "I might be able to get this to Usagi, and she can free the other Senshi, but we'd have to get right back out again. We have to finish this some other time."

Pluto shook her head. "That one won't work. It's a fake. The guinzuihsou that was with it, as well."

Ranma examined the Moon Stick. It seemed the same as he had always seen it before. "It is? Since when?"

"Since yesterday morning. I switched them when you were all asleep." She held out a hand and another Moon Stick, complete with guinzuishou, appeared in it.

Veins popped on the martial artists' foreheads. "So Sailor Moon isn't really too pooped to use it?"

"That kinda helps." Ranma let the fake Moon Stick drop to the ground. "I'm guessing you set things up here."

"There are a few explosives buried around the place. Most of what we have to do is just quick action." She handed the real Moon Stick to Ranma. "Beryl and the others will be here shortly. You free Sailor Moon and give her this. Ryoga, Shampoo, knock the Senshi down and keep them occupied. I will handle Magnetite, Beryl, and Saffron."

They ducked down behind some rocks they had set up for cover on the ledge as footsteps approached. Beryl led in the procession of Senshi, the imprisoned Sailor Moon, and Magnetite. The general was towing a levitating metal platform with a strange apparatus on it. Saffron floated in fetal postion in the center, surrounded by metal and crystal rings inscribed with runes in the Dark Kingdom's language. There were four crystal pillars supporting the rings, and a number of projections facing forward, some coming together to form a sort of nozzle.

Magnetite settled the platform into position and aimed the nozzle squarely at the cocoon. The Senshi lined up behind it and to the left, between Ranma's group and the apparatus. Sailors Jupiter and Uranus held Sailor Moon by the arms between them, her hands encased in a crystal block. Tuxedo Mask stood at Beryl's side, though his usual formal wear was absent. Instead he wore black enamelled armor decorated with silver trim and curves.

They watched as Magnetite adjusted a last few glyphs, then manned a bank of control crystals and instruments at one side of the platform. "All is ready, my Queen. We may begin at any time."

"We've got to stop them now, before it's too late!" Ryoga rose to jump from the ledge, but was held back by Pluto.

"Wait for it," Pluto said. "We will need the energy flow to defeat Metallia. The Senshi are not strong enough as it is."

Beryl turned to her captives and slaves. She swept her arms in a grand gesture. "Behold, Queen Metallia! The TRUE ruler of this and all other worlds! Now, at last, with the power of this youth in her hands, she will be at full strength in a matter of days! Behold as our victory is at hand!" She gestured to Magnetite. "Let it begin!"

Magnetite laid his hand on a single red crystal on his panel. White energy shot from the fixture to the cocoon, splashing over the surface. The darkness moaned, then cooed, drinking in the energy gleefully.

"The energy flow is stable, my Queen," Magnetite reported. "At this rate, Metallia will be able to emerge in a matter of days."

"Now," Sailor Pluto whispered, and the group jumped down from their ledge.

The ground beneath Beryl's feet exploded. An instant later, the same happened to Magnetite. A string of blasts came from behind the cocoon, across the backside and at the attachment points. The cocoon itself came open, exposing Metallia to the air. Queen Beryl went flying into the blackness.

"Queen Beryl-sama!" The Senshi started forward as a group, hoping to rescue Beryl. This left Sailor Moon momentarily behind them. Ryoga and Shampoo fell among them, taking them off their feet with throws and leg sweeps. Ranma got behind Sailor Moon and applied a Breaking Point strike to the crystal binding her hands, freeing them, and handed her the Moon Stick.

Sailor Pluto had landed by the apparatus. She pushed the nozzle up, redirecting the energy flow to the ceiling, but made no move to shut it off at the console.

Sailor Moon stood in awe as the last of the Senshi stood before the man who had betrayed her. "Sailor Pluto? Is that really you?"

Magnetite was now recovering, and turned to face the Senshi of Pluto. "But... you ... you would abandon your duties, after all this time...?"

"Someone once said that my duties should have been seen more broadly," Pluto said. "This IS my duty now. I serve my Queen."

"You will DIE with her!" Magnetite fired a bolt of darkness from his hands. Pluto easily blocked it with her staff, and riposted with her own attack.

"CHRONOS TYPHOON!"

Magnetite was suddenly enveloped in a vortex of energies, distorting his limbs, then dissolving him to dust and scattering it to the ends of time.

The enslaved Senshi and Ukyo were now getting back to their feet. Ranma got her attention. "Sailor Moon! Do your thing!"

"Right!" Sailor Moon bounded several paces away to catch everyone in the cast. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

The light of her healing powers washed over the enslaved group, dropping them all to their knees. Their eyes briefly became glazed, then refocused. They looked like they had awoken from a long nightmare.

"Ranchan?" Ukyo blinked rapidly for a few seconds. She looked like her old self again. She rushed over to glomp her fiancee. "Thank Kami-sama!"

Sailor Venus breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sailor Moon, Ranma." She turned and bowed deeply to Sailor Pluto. "And thank you, Sailor Pluto."

"Don't thank me yet," Pluto said. "We still have something to do." She gestured toward the darkness where the cocoon had been.

As they watched, it took human shape. A giant sized female body formed, bearing some resemblance to Beryl, though her skin and hair were distincly bluish. "Yes... yyyeeeesss... the time is at hand! The time to fill all living things with hate and ambition! I shall destroy all things but myself and turn this into a world of darkness!"

Energy was still flowing from the crystal apparatus. The giant Beryl-Metallia fusion reached out to the stream and began to drink it in again. The Sailor Senshi grew frantic. "She's gaining power!" Jupiter said. "We gotta stop that flow!" She rushed to the control panel, but was held back by Pluto.

"We will defeat her with that very energy," she said. "We would have to give our life forces to the attack. Saffron's energy will make sure we have more than enough to survive. Form up in front."

She walked to the apparatus and tilted it down so that it was almost horizontal. She then took her place in the circle of Senshi in front of it, allowing the beam to pass between them as they linked hands to complete the circle. "Everybody!" Sailor Moon began. "Poll our powers! MOON PRISM POWER!"

"MERCURY POWER!"

"VENUS POWER!"

"MARS POWER!"

"JUPITER POWER!"

"URANUS PLANET POWER!"

"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER!"

"PLUTO PLANET POWER!"

They all shouted the final phrase together. "SAILOR PLANET ATTACK!"

The bystanders had to look away and shut their eyes. A wave of heat washed over them; the noise was deafening. The Senshi, in the eye of the storm, saw the energy stream shift through a rainbow of colors before becoming pure white. The stream speared into Beryl/Metallia, causing her to cry out in pain.

"NOOOOO! THE LIGHT! IT BURNS! IT BURNS! MY CHILDREN! COME TO ME! YOU HAVE SWORN YOUR LIVES TO ME! NOW I NEED THEM! GIVE THEM TO ME! DESTROY THESE SAILOR SENSHI!"

She reached out her hands and summoned all her dark power back to herself. Throughout the Dark Kingdom, every youma and monster infused with her energy felt the pull. A pull none could resist. All fell lifeless, dissolving to dust, as their essences were gathered to their queen.

The darkness surged, engulfing the whole area. Ranma opened his eyes, but could not see his hands in front of his face - for a moment. Then the light returned, brighter than ever before, and he had to close his eyes again.

Waves of force began to push at him, battering him to the ground. The ground shook; the noise was deafening. He rode it out as best he could, hoping the place didn't come down around his ears.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

He wasn't sure when it stopped. It had seemed to be quiet for a long time, but he didn't know if it was the absence of sound, or he had gone deaf. He looked up and saw the place where Metallia had been was empty. The energy stream had stopped. The Senshi all were collapsed on the ground in front of Magnetite's machine. All were breathing; most had their eyes open, though they looked quite worn out.

"You guys okay?" They didn't look injured, just weak. Shampoo and Ryoga went to them to help them up.

"We will... survive..." Pluto said. "But this place will be unstable. We must get out while we can."

Ranma helped her up; she leaned on her staff. "So... can you make us a portal or something? Maybe do what you did back in Jusendo, with the mists?"

"Not right now," she said. "We will have to make for one of the Dark Kingdom portals before they fail. Best we head for the Tokyo one. There will be no youma on the way - they are all dead with Metallia."

As they passed the machine, Ranma noticed Saffron wasn't in it anymore. Instead there was a large egg laying in it. He picked it up; it was still warm to the touch. "Is this... Saffron?"

"The guinzuishou drew energy from him faster than even he could produce it," Pluto said. "He is now reborn as he always is. The bird men will be quite grateful if we can return him..."

Sailor Moon hugged Endymion closely. "So we won?" she asked. "That's really it? There's no more enemies to fight?"

"There are always enemies to fight," Pluto told her. "But we have time. You will be able to rest for a good while."

"YAAHHHH!" Sailor Moon panicked. "I've missed a day of school! I'll have to do all kinds of makeup work... and Mom will kill me... I'll be grounded for life..."

"Get a grip," Ranma said. "At least we can make it to Japan. Akane is going to have to fly back from China with the Kunos."

That actually cheered him up.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

And so that's the story. Intended to be the last full chapter. Probably an epilogue or two coming somewhere down the line for better closure, but all the important events have been done. I really should have asked for collaborators, proofreaders, etc.

Thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed.


	30. Epilogue: Coming Home

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"...With the sudden disappearance of the terrorists, we are left wondering: Where have they gone? When will they strike next? And just who ARE they and what do they want? Joining us in our studio is counterterrorism expert Dr. Ichiro Kanzaki. Welcome, Dr. Kanzaki."

"Thank you."

"Doctor, to begin with, just what do we know about these terrorists so far?"

"Well, we know they began to operate a little over a year ago, and investigations of some of their operations indicate that they were set up all over the world at that time, on every continent. It appears that the first set of activities were begun within a few days. A few early operations in England were disrupted by Interpol, and since last April the operations in Japan have been disrupted by some sort of vigilante element..."

"The so-called 'Sailor Senshi'?"

"Yes. As the Sailor Senshi have demonstrated abilities similar to the terrorists, we theorize that they are a breakaway group, disenchanted by the terrorists' leadership."

"Are there any indications where they came from?"

"There appear to be no solid indications at this time where they were formed. Several operations appear to have been recruitments, inviolving some type of temporary indoctrination, but they have always lost heart when apprehended. As to central bases of operations, we are still investigating leads."

"What of their purpose? Have any messages or demands been received from their leadership?"

"We've had none so far, which is troubling. They have compromised security in almost every major nation, some smaller countries were almost brought to their knees in the recent battles, but their leadership has yet to identify itself or their goals. We think they may simply have been making demonstrations before now, and will be making their demands soon."

"What of reports that they have used weapons of mass destruction? There has been talk of possible chemical, biological, or radiological agents used in some battles."

"We're looking into those. I will say that there has been no residual radiation detected at any former incident site, and that the only symptoms we have seen among victims have been a loss of energy and some dehydration. There have been no signs of any symptoms of radiation poisoning, so we are tentatively ruling out radiological agents. There are no residual chemical traces consistent with any agent known to cause this sort of energy loss, and nothing we know of has such a quick recovery. A biological agent similar to a 24-hour flu is possible, or some chemical or biological agent that produces energy loss in the presence of a certain radio or microwave frequency. We are still investigating this, and it may take some time."

"A strong opinion has emerged in recent days, after the major battle in Tokyo and now all over the world, that these terrorists are more unorthodox than authorities are willing to admit. Dr. Souichi Tomoe of the Mugen Gakuen School has claimed that, quote, "what the world has seen of these beings clearly indicates non-terrestrial origin and technology." He speculates that they are more of a probing force gathering intelligence on our capabilities, that their sudden disappearance was a teleportation to their fleet, and that they can be expected to return in force at some future time."

"Dr. Tomoe's reputation is well known in the scientific community, and these claims sound a bit hyperbolic. I think clearly he is trying to stir up more funding for his own research. At this time, we can categorically rule out any fantastic theories..."

Nabiki found she could not keep from laughing. "i'd love to see the look on his face when he finds out they're MAGIC!"

"But how would he find out?" Kasumi asked innocently. "Will Ranma and the Senshi be doing a press conference?"

"I would be happy just to have them back home," Nodoka said. "They've been gone such a long time..."

"The youma are all dead," Kasumi tried to reassure her. "That has to mean they've won..."

"Maybe no one won..." Nodoka wrung her hands in worry and frustration. "My son... just when I've found you, I've lost you..."

Nabiki was too realistic to be reassured so easily. She found it all too easy to imagine both sides wiping each other out in the final battle between the Sailor Senshi and the Dark Kingdom. She could accept the Senshi and Ranma dying, they were super heroes, they knew the risk. But her little sister was still with them, and now that it was a realistic prospect that she might never see Akane again, Nabiki found that she could not honestly say she wouldn't feel a twinge of sorrow for her.

She would feel the hit to her fortune a bit more acutely soon. They were currently in a cheap motel room near Nagasaki. The family plastic was covering it, for the moment; there would be no vacation this year. A few more days, and Nabiki would start to see her own seed money for future plans start to dwindle.

A series of knocks at the door drew their attention. Three, then two, then four. The men were back with the results of the day's hunt. They hushed up quickly, and Nodoka went to the door and opened it.

No one was there. Nodoka swung her cloth-wrapped sword out the doorway to the left, producing an "Oww!"

It was Soun on that side. Genma was on the right. They both darted in and shut the door. Soun was rubbing his temple.

"You got the wrong side!" he complained.

Nodoka merely sweatdropped. "You men and your games..."

"These are no games!" Genma said defensively. "We might have been ambushed by youma out there!"

"And WE might have been replaced while you were gone," Nabiki said. "It doesn't help to be too paranoid. There isn't going to be a youma under every rock."

Genma would not be swayed. "It's always the rock you don't check that hides your enemy!"

They settled down to their meal, such as it was. They had gotten a selection of snacks and chilled meals from the motel vending machines. The tap water from the sink wasn't particularly hot, especially in winter, so instant ramen or rice was out. They had some, saved for lunch, when they would be on the road and able to gather firewood. For now they made do with tacos, crackers, and energy bars, with bottles of tea to drink.

Soun laid out a map, and they began to look at their options. "We can make it to Okinawa today if we set out early..."

"Are you insane!" Genma exploded. "Trapped for most of the day on a ferry? If there were a youma in board, there would be nowhere to run! And on an island at the end of the trip! We need room to be able to get away! We must stay on Honshu!"

"I'm getting tired of these campgrounds and training areas," Nabiki said. "It IS winter, you know. Being outside all day in the chill is not doing anything good for my health."

"We have to stay on the move," Genma insisted. "I know dozens of remote places in the mountains where there should be no one. If any youma show up we would see them coming easily." He walked his fingers over the map. "Just don't repeat any place before going to at least three or four different ones first. And no consistent pattern..."

"I'm sure we can go home now, husband," Nodoka pleaded. "The news is full of reports that the youma are gone..."

Genma glared at his wife. "Trust me. I'm an expert in survival."

"You're an expert at running away..." Nabiki said.

"That's true," Kasumi confirmed. It was, indeed, a well-known fact.

They were interrupted by another knock at the door. They quieted immediately; Genma motioned the women to the bathroom, while he and Soun moved to check at the blinds.

When they saw who it was, Soun could not contain himself. He rushed toward the door. "AKANEE!"

Genma stopped his old friend in his tracks, knocking him to the floor. "NO, fool! They could be youma! As we practiced!"

Soun placed himself next to the door, hand on the doorknob, ready to open quickly. Genma braced himself at the back of the room, one foot on the wall. He charged at the door, jumping just as Soun opened it. He flew out the door at chest height - and landed hard on the pavement outside. There had been nothing in his way.

"What did I tell you?" Ranma's voice said. "Don't need future sight. Pop's just too easy to guess."

Genma got up and dusted himself off. "Dammit, boy, if you knew what was coming you should have met with a counter -"

He turned to face his son - and stopped in shock.

"Sorry, Pop," Ranma-kun said. "I couldn't resist watching you fall flat on your face."

Genma barely registered his words. He looked from one side of the door to the other. From Ranma-kun to Ukyo to - Ranma-_chan_?

"Could we get inside?" Ukyo said. "It's kind of chilly out here."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

There was a strange tension in the air as everyone sat in the motel room. Ranma, Ukyo, and Sailor Pluto sat on one bed, eyes scanning politely across Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Genma, and Nodoka. The latter were shifting, unbelieving, between Ranma and Pluto.

Soun pressed for his concerns first. "Akane - where is she? Is she all right? Please tell me she's not dead..."

"She's with the Amazons," Pluto said. "She should be coming back with the Kunos in a few days."

"Worse than dead," Nabiki said.

Soun didn't agree. "YES!" Rising Sun fans appeared in his hands. Confetti balls exploded. Fireworks went off somewhere.

The women kept switching their gaze from Ranma to Pluto. "Ano..." Nodoka said, "I'm sorry... this is a bit... confusing to us. Are you two really -?"

"Allow me to explain," Sailor Pluto said. "For the past year, Ranma-kun has been my host. He has commanded my powers and taken my form, but my spirit has not been in control. During the battle in the Dark Kingdom, I was finally freed from him by exposure to the light of the guinzuishou. I am pleased to truly meet all of you at last. I am Sailor Pluto." She bowed deeply at the waist.

"You are... the one who was used to create the pool?" Kasumi asked.

"I was trapped there, unable to be reincarnated as the other Senshi were," Pluto said. "I could only live through my hosts." She bowed again, to the Tendos and to Ranma. "I must thank you for bearing up under the imposition."

"Oh, no problem," Kasumi said.

"No problem!" Nabiki exclaimed. "Because of HER, we got drawn into a magical WAR! We almost got KiLLED!"

"It was the Master who almost got us killed," Genma said angrily. "He's always doing that. That's why we tried to get rid of him." He leaned forward toward Pluto and lowered his voice. "So, when will he be...?"

"Never," Pluto said. "He is dead. As is Elder Cologne."

Genma and Soun both put their hands together in prayer and began to wail to the heavens. "Great Kami, let it be so! Free at last!"

"That's so sad," Kasumi said, eyes tearing up. "Grandmother Cologne... now Shampoo will have to go back alone!"

"She was a hundred years old," Nabiki pointed out. "She couldn't have lasted much longer anyhow. Did she leave anything for Ranma?"

"Nabiki!" Kasumi chided.

"Hey., it's worth a shot," Nabiki said.

"The village will show its gratitude," Pluto said. "But it will not be anything you can sell." This left Nabiki crestfallen.

"What about the monsters?" Nodoka asked. "The news is reporting they have disappeared all over the world. Will they be back?"

"We beat them!" Ranma puffed out his chest, looking proud of himself.

"The Senshi beat them," Ukyo said.

"They killed Beryl," Ranma said. "They wouldn't have gotten that far if it hadn't been for me!"

"Not entirely true," Pluto said. "Had I taken an Amazon host, she would not have left the village. The Senshi would have faced Beryl without my powers, or Uranus or Neptune. The Inner Senshi would have died alone. Not that the Amazons would care. They would appreciate a warrior's death, but if that warrior were not a formal member of the village, they would not send reinforcements."

"Wait a minute..." Ranma said. "You make it sound as if you had a choice. What about MY choice?"

"Isn't choice an illusion of those who don't know the larger picture?" Nabiki asked. "Or something like that?"

"What choice did you want?" Pluto asked Ranma. "It's perfectly simple, actually. You have been raised to tread a path, and you accepted that path long ago. You want only enough freedom to walk it properly. I was a diversion, a threat to derail your Destiny. If there had been any other choice, for either of us, I would have taken it."

"So what did _your _choice get us?" There was bitterness in Ranma's voice.

"No more monsters," Ukyo said, trying to look on the bright side.

"Unless you want some," Pluto said, standing up. "There are still things around to test a hero's strength. But you will be free to pursue your obligations as yourself."

"No way," Ranma said. "I've had it with the weird stuff."

"As you wish." Pluto strode to the closet and opened the door.

"Wait," Ukyo said. "If we do need you... how will we find you?"

"You don't. If you wish to work with the Senshi again, and they are willing, you can always go to the Hikawa Shrine. But if all goes well, hopefully, you should never see _me_ again." She entered the closet and closed the door after her.

Everyone stared at the door for a minute. Nodoka finally got up and opened the closet again. It was, of course, empty.

"O-kay!" Nabiki clapped her hands together. "I guess it's time to go home! I've missed enough school already..."

"There is something that should be settled first," Soun said gravely.

"Ohhhhh no..." Ukyo said.

"The Anything-Goes School must still be united!" Genma said fiercely. "Ranma, you have had all year to get to know your fiancees! So, which do you choose? Kasumi, Nabiki, or Akane?"

"Not that again!" Nabiki gasped.

"Have you no loyalty to your family?" Soun pleaded.

"The joining of the schools is hereby put off for another generation," Ukyo said, in her best impression of a civil official.

"You WILL agree to marry your children to my grandchildren?" Soun's mercurial expressions were now ranging to the threatening again.

"We'll consider it," Ranma and Ukyo said together.

"Kasumi? Nabiki?" Soun was losing his spine again, as he often did with his daughters.

"Um... if it's not too big of a burden, I suppose..." Kasumi said vaguely.

"Only if you get it in writing," Nabiki said. "I don't want the same thing happening to my kids as happened to me. If something happens to me, I don't want to rely on absent-minded men to tell them they're spoken for THE DAY OF THE ENGAGEMENT." She glared meaningfully at her father. "And you know what Kuno will say if you include Akane."

Discussion of the terms of the contract, and failsafe measures, took up much of their trip home. Nominally, the fathers would accept a deferred engagement. The rest accepted that they would try something on their own.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

All over the Tokyo area, indeed many parts of the world, the disappearance of the youma was met with sighs of relief. And, among a good many schoolchildren, cries of disappointment. Some of the loudest came from a middle school in Juuban.

"It's sooooo unFAAAAIIIIRRRR!" Usagi yelled as she, Ami, and Makoto walked out of school after their first day back. "We save the whole world and we don't get so much as a 'thank you'! No one knows we did it! We ought to get a parade!"

"You know we can't, Usagi-chan," Makoto said. "Pluto said we still need our secret identities. We've got to keep training..."

"She's right, Usagi-chan," Ami said. "There's still monsters out there. She said there were all kinds of spirits that the Senshi had to keep in check in ancient times. And there are still some old enemies from those times that may still be lurking about."

"And who knows what new stuff that's been growing since we've been out of the loop," Makoto added.

"Can't we at least take a breather!" Usagi complained. "I want to sleep for a week! I've NEVER had this much homework before! And they say the school year will be extended to make up for the lost days! Come OOOOONNN! Everyone else got three days off!"

"You should be glad that's all we've got!" Makoto said. "We really dodged a bullet! At least they accepted our story about being captured by youma..."

"They should! It was TRUE!"

"We weren't the only ones," Ami pointed out. "A lot of people went missing during the attacks. Some of the people listed as missing were youma cover identities, but dozens of human bodies have been found. My mom is grateful I came back at all."

"Yeah," Makoto said, "aren't your parents glad to have you back?"

Usagi couldn't honestly say they weren't. "But now I'm grounded for life! They're not letting me out of the house except for school! I won't get to go anywhere with you guys!"

"That could be a problem," Ami mused. "If something does come up, we need to be able to get you out of the house..."

This did nothing to lift Usagi's spirits. Life in Juuban was on its way back to normal. Which, for some people, seemed not to be a blessing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

That day in Nerima was better for the Tendos. Nabiki had fretted about being behind on gossip and profit-making opportunities, and was glad to find she hadn't missed anything due to the school shutdown. Akane had just returned from the airport, having shared a flight with the Kunos. She and Kodachi had agreed to keep Tatewaki between them - unconscious.

With Akane home, peace finally settled in. It lasted until Genma Saotome showed up.

"He's gone!" the stocky martial artist said.

"Gone?" Soun asked.

"I got up for training this morning and Ranma was already gone. He's never just gone. I know he's trying to get away from us!"

Soun's anger flared. "Children today... no respect for their parents..."

"Awwwww," Akane drawled. "He got away before you could trick him into marrying one of us."

Soun glared at his daughter in annoyance, then turned back to his old friend. "He'd go to Kuonji first -"

"First place I checked," Genma said. "Her shop is vacant, she's moved out. She left an okonomiyaki..."

He handed Soun a piece of crumpled wrapping paper. It still had particles of bread and sauce on it, and a message in marker.

_WE'RE ELOPING_

"How far did you chase them?"

"I haven't begun," Genma said evenly. "The okonomiyaki that was wrapped in that..."

"It was drugged, wasn't it," Soun stated. And Genma was not known for refusing free food...

"She's never done that before!" Genma said defensively.

"Must have learned from the Amazons," Nabiki said idly.

"So you've been out most of the day," Soun guessed. "There's no time to lose!"

The two fathers rushed out the front door.

"Do they have any idea where to start looking?" Akane asked.

"Would it matter to them?" Nabiki said in reply.

"Oh my," Kasumi said. "I suppose we will only need dinner for three..."

Soun would return after almost two weeks, not feeling like engaging in a global chase. Let Genma follow the boy. The Tendo dojo wouldn't run itself.

Within days, his duaghters would come home from school with a Picolet Chardin II in tow. The master of Anything-Goes Martial Arts would find new impetus to search for his other prospective son-in-law.

It seemed that the situation in Nerima had returned to normal... all too normal.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

There are many people enjoying the Okinawa sun. Ranma does so in his own way, doing katas on the beach. It has been two weeks since leaving Nerima, and he is feeling carefree for the first time in a year. He was back on the road, travelling to improve his skills. It has been some years since his father took him to Okinawa to test the local dojos and training halls. He would like to see how much better he can do now.

Nearby, Ukyo is plying her trade again. She has been saving her money, and gambling under Ranma's direction whilst he had the Sight. Nabiki may never be satisfied, but Ukyo was happy enough to have been able to afford a new yattai. Call it a wedding gift, a replacement for the lost dowry.

"Here you go, Mr. Otonashi," she says, serving to a blond American. A lot of her customers today are attached to the military base: servicemen, contractors, family members. It does seem a bit out of place for a blond man to have a Japanese name. Did he actually immigrate? It feels like a fish trying to live on land.

Ranma does not worry about such things. He worries about what he sees in the trees. He stops his practice and gently sidles up to his fiancee for a whisper. "Looks like we have a panda in the trees."

Ukyo glances at the forest across the road. Mr. Saotome no longer transforms into a panda, not that either form could hide in trees particularly well. "Ugh. I thought we'd be able to stay ahead of him longer."

They pack up and get ready for a chase. They have no problem knocking him out again and gaining more time. The following week, they will be in America, where Genma will not think to search for months. And then...

Who knows? Who cares? Not they. They are where they should be, where they have always been, living in the moment. The future had better leave them alone.

It won't, of course. It always handles itself.


	31. Epilogue II: Tea For Two

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"_Ka shira! Ka shira! Gozonji ka shira?"_

_There's a mysterious old lady in town!_

_I hear she's a fortune teller!_

_Someone tell the Princess! She's been looking for a husband for a long time now!_

_(And she isn't getting any younger!)_

_Oh fortune teller, tell me true! Is there love in my future? Is there any hope for me?_

_The spirits speak to me... they show me many things..._

_What do they show? Oh, what, what?_

_They show me your future... they show me... _

_Oh, what?_

_You... you..._

_Yes, yes!_

_...need an oil change._

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Few students have cell phones yet. Only those in the university-level computer science labs have access to e-mail. Text messaging is years away. Yet the rumors fly at the speed of light all the same.

Here for the Chairman, they agree. Must be a friend of the family. Certainly not a close relative; they aren't even from the same part of India, you can see it on her face -

Oh, that face. That body. Many unattached boys forget their sports or their overdue homework or where they have been going to class all year. Girls, attached or not, plan convenient accidents to remove the competition: this one is priority, no one would be safe. If she is coming to be a teacher, who could learn in her class? If a university student... Gods help the academic standards of the school.

She strolls into the school in a lavender suit and high heels, waist-length hair showing a tinge of green. Yes, must be a friend of the family, same penchant for strange dyes. Through the gates, into the atrium, under the homage to the Rialto Bridge, out across the courtyard, no, she can't be, not the greenhouse, that's HER place -

But she does. And they emerge, moments later, and walk together back to the atrium, and enter the elevator that goes all the way up to the Chairman's office.

New whispers start to filter through the student body. The Champion must be notified. Is this a new Duelist? Did she have a signet? No one saw anything on her hands. None without a signet should have business with the Bride.

The whispers will die out by the end of the day. Tomorrow morning, they will be forgotten utterly, as is much that happens around here.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The meeting is held on the Student Council's platform, above the campus, a high angle out of sight of the rabble. Tea is poured, tailored just so. They regard the view of the dueling forest. Both can see the impossible island, the arena, the castle above.

The newcomer begins. "A bit flamboyant, isn't it?"

"A cage becomes ever more gilded as it is lived in."

"Like a nest. The only difference..."

"The owner is free to leave."

"Has it often been like this? Your homes?"

"I exercise what skills I have. My style of home improvement does not involve hammers and lumber. It requires a woman's hand." A witch's hand.

"They say building, as much is hunting, is the sport of royalty. The Queen was quite devoted to it. All the palaces and gardens..."

"Everyone is well, I take it?"

"No major injuries. The Inner Senshi are already taking that for granted. Their spirits are down because now they have to go back to mundane life. There is some range of opinions, but they are all glad to have dodged a bullet with regard to their parents and teachers. Lots of people went missing during the rampages. Their families are glad to have gotten them back at all."

"Everyone would be glad the monsters are finally gone."

"Those particular monsters, anyway." A questioning look. "Or are they?"

To business, then. "I only wanted to make my own way in the world. There was only one way at the time. I am no threat to anyone."

"Some of your followers may think differently."

"Aren't ex-boyfriends always like that?"

A laugh. That struck home. "It certainly was that way with us. I am not sure we can find any better. Some of us, it seems, are not destined for love..."

"And some of us, for too much." But too fleeting, she does not say. "But you need not worry about my problems. I cut my ties long ago. It was her policy to fully bind every ally eventually. Some who came on after I left may have escaped, and there are always free spirits. And things only you could see."

"My vision was always more cloudy when dealing with things from deep space. The real headache is my own post. I have been gone far too long. In my absence, my duties have fallen to... less capable hands. Agencies with different philosophies. It's an incredible mess. We may have very little time to rest and recover."

"There are always monsters, then, aren't there?"

"We will just have to see how many. Our numbers may be stretched thin. We could do with more friends of our own." An inviting look. "You are now a free agent, not bound to anyone. You could choose sides again."

"I know you have to make the offer. And you know my price."

"Indeed. And my Princess would be the first to say what you seek is not hers, or anyone's, to simply give." A resigned sigh. "If you cannot leave, we will have to be satisfied with that. But you should beware that our enemies may also come with offers. They are likely to be less polite."

"I shall keep you in mind, then. And perhaps..." A thoughtful look. "If you need an ally, I heard your host was quite capable."

A chuckle. "He will hate it when he finds he is not done with us."

The Bride has to ask. "Will I be free someday?"

The reply is piercing."Who, truly, is your jailor?" Then lighter: "You have some good prospects in a few years. You just have to keep an open mind."

The Time Lady leaves. The Duelists will soon notice the Bride's good spirits are more sincere than they can remember. They take this as a good sign.

There will be Revolution soon. They know it. They know they will have a part in it.

So does the green-haired goddess. She walks gracefully out the front gates, keeping the place in mind. The Revolution will indeed begin here, in part. It will begin many places, and as is the way of Revolutions, it will go strange places and draw in even stranger people. At the far end, if she can do her own part and order her bailiwick, will be a palace of crystal in a world of peace.

She wishes she could keep her promise and keep her late host out of it. Perhaps she can, perhaps she can't.

Only Time will tell. It always does.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

- F I N -


End file.
